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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23490046">Team SHDW Volume 1</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyForestWrites3/pseuds/TyForestWrites3'>TyForestWrites3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Team SHDW [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Beacon is basically college but with more fun, Because there are PLENTY, Bigger plans are on the way, Blacksun, Character Development, Depiction of music/songs in fight scenes, Everything revealed after RWBY Volume 5 is not canon to this story, F/M, Nathan and his team get their own side stories, Original Character(s), Plenty of Fluff, Renora, RoosterTeeth bashing in the notes, Small bit of angst, Spot the references if you can, Team RWBY is a Sisterhood, Yang and Ruby had two other friends before Beacon, actual world-building, arkos, because my God are they terrible at writing a lot of the time, both are hopeless idiots, but most are irrelevant to the bigger plot, eventually, like they were supposed to be, yeah there are other pairings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:15:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>34,962</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23490046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyForestWrites3/pseuds/TyForestWrites3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Join Skyler Yin, Hazel Tikal, Dante Williams, and Walker Elliot as they go to Beacon Academy and... well, you know the rest.</p><p>Covers RWBY Volume 1-3</p><p>Okay, so I know that this isn’t the best of summaries, but I can’t really find a better way to do so. Not the most original thing ever written, just to warn ya, but I do have big things planned. Hope you enjoy!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blake Belladonna &amp; Original Male Character, Blake Belladonna/Sun Wukong, Coco Adel/Original Male Character, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Many other Original Character friendships with Canon Characters, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Ruby Rose &amp; Original Male Character(s), Yang Xiao Long &amp; Original Male Character(s), Yang Xiao Long/Original Male Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Team SHDW [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690849</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: Ruby Rose</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this is actually a rewrite of one of my earlier works by the same name that you can find on Wattpad and FanFiction.Net, but seeing as how that there’s a reason I’m rewriting it, I won’t be posting that version on AO3.</p><p>I had started the SHDW series with barely any big plans for it. It would've been just another generic story if not for the intervention of H20Flame and his characters and lore. If I had known then what I know now, this story would've turned out a LOT different.</p><p>But without further ado, enjoy my rewrite of Team SHDW Volume 1!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span class="u">Flashback</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Christina, are you sure you want to go through with this?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Richard, you know we have to! They're after us now that we've defected! Is the basement entrance still hidden?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes, but... our son? You want to use the last of our experiments on our own child? I know we're in a desperate situation, but-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's the only way to be able to keep our research intact and out of the White Fang's hands. Even if they found what's in the basement, they won't have the completed product." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But after what happened to Zander?!" </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"If you remember, Zander didn't go insane." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah, but he went into a coma that he still hasn't woken up from, as far as we're aware. You act as though that's supposed to reassure me that putting the same stuff that we put into Zander's body into Skyler's would be a good idea." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We've worked on the essence since then. That was months ago. You know the progress we've made!" </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I know, I know... it's just... I'm worried, just as I know you are. Once the condition starts rearing it's head, they're gonna find out, one way or another. And you know how violent Sienna can get. Especially now with Zander's condition." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm aware... And I'm not just worried. I'm scared out of my mind. What if they find us sooner than we think they will? What if they find the basement? What if they find out about Skyler and the things he'll be capable of once his body matures?! Oh gods, I'm so scared right now..." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. But don't worry so much. There's nothing wrong with a little caution. We'll need to watch our backs." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Right... let's just get this over with."</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>Present Day </em>
  </span>
</p><p>"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister's going to Beacon with us! This is the best day ever!!"</p><p>"Please stop..."</p><p>Of all the things to have happened, Skyler Yin, dressed in his regular green t-shirt and blue jeans, wasn't expecting his younger female childhood friend, aka Ruby Rose, to be in the same freshman year as the rest of them. And by them, he of course referred to himself, Ruby's older half-sister Yang Xiao Long, and Dante Williams, the middle currently crushing her sister in a hug, and the latter awkwardly watching alongside Skyler, wearing black pants and a long red jacket over a white shirt.</p><p>"It <em>is</em> rather surprising," Dante admitted, messing with his white hair, "You're two years younger than the rest of us. What did you do to get the headmaster's attention like that?"</p><p>Ruby escaped from Yang's death grip and sweat-dropped, "Eh... nothing much... really, guys, it's nothing."</p><p>"Only you would call getting the attention of Headmaster Ozpin 'nothing'," Skyler smiled teasingly.</p><p>"He's right!" Yang grinned wider, "It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees!"</p><p>"Who on Remnant says 'the bee's knees'?" Dante whispered to Skyler.</p><p>"Not us."</p><p>"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees', okay?" Ruby protested, "I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."</p><p>"What's with you?" Yang asked, puzzled, "Aren't you excited?"</p><p>"Of course I'm excited... I just..." Ruby sighed, "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything."</p><p>Yang went over and gave her sister a one-armed hug, "But you <em>are</em> special."</p><p>"Yeah, and besides," Dante said, "You won't have to worry about making a lot of new friends because you got us! Us four musketeers will be going at it again! Who knows, we could all be on the same team!"</p><p>"Yeah, but what would we be called?" Skyler asked, "YRDS (Yards)?"</p><p>"That's assuming you want Yang as a leader. Do you want that?"</p><p>"Good point."</p><p>"Hey!" Yang argued, "I'm right here! And what's wrong with me being in charge?"</p><p>"No offense, Yang," Skyler replied, "But you're not exactly the pinnacle of leadership."</p><p>"I have no idea what you're talking about," Yang huffed, crossing her arms indignantly.</p><p>"Need I remind us all of the dreaded Jockstrap Incident?" Dante retorted.</p><p>Ruby shivered, "Please don't..."</p><p>"Okay, sure," Yang admitted, "But that was one ti-"</p><p>"Or the time you went to train Ruby out in the middle of nowhere woods, where you were attacked by an Ursa," Dante continued, "Or that night at Junior's, where you beat the absolute crap out of everybody there. Or that time Skyler got locked in a public re-"</p><p>"Can we please not bring that up," Skyler interrupted, groaning, "I've tried to block that out of my memory, I don't need to be reminded."</p><p>Yang sighed in defeat, "Maybe so... but you didn't have to be so harsh about it."</p><p>"I know," Dante grinned playfully, "I'm just giving you a hard time."</p><p>Skyler thought about adding in the time Yang dragged all of them out to the middle of nowhere when they were kids to find a hint about her mom, but shook away that thought, thinking bringing that up would be a bit below the belt. Then all their attention was drawn to the newscast on Vale News Network playing nearby, talking about a robbery and showing a mugshot of Roman Torchwick.</p><p>
  <em>-The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa.- </em>
</p><p>The mugshot then changed to Lisa Lavender, the regular news lady, along with a photo of animal-eared demonstrators holding signs saying 'WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!', followed by an image of the logo of a growling red wolf's head with three scratch marks.</p><p><em>-Thank you, Cyril,-</em> Lisa said, <em>-In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted—- </em></p><p>The news feed was cut off and a hologram of a woman replaced it. If everyone's attention wasn't on the TV, everyone's was now on the projection.</p><p><em>-Hello, and welcome to Beacon!-</em> the hologram lady greeted.</p><p>"Who's that?" Yang asked.</p><p>
  <em>-My name is Glynda Goodwitch.- </em>
</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>
  <em>-You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world.- </em>
</p><p>Glynda's projection disappeared and the giant castle that was Beacon Academy came into view.</p><p>"Oh, wow!" Ruby said among several other cries of surprise, "Look, you can see Signal from up here! I guess home isn't too far after all."</p><p>Yang put her arms around her friends and gave a warm smile, "Beacon's our home, now."</p><p>The four then heard a passenger with blonde hair and armor groaning and hunched over nearby, before eventually running to the back of the ship.</p><p>Yang rolled her eyes, "Well... I guess the view isn't for everyone."</p><p>"It was a nice moment while it lasted," Ruby smiled awkwardly.</p><p>"I wonder who we're gonna meet!" Dante stated.</p><p>"I just hope they're better than Vomit Boy over there," Skyler grimaced, nodding over to the nauseas passenger.</p><p>Ruby then looked down and shrieked, "Oh, Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!" </p><p>"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!!"</p><p>"Get-Get away! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!!"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You can tell I'm already setting up future events that won't even happen this volume. And that's how you set up lore, my fellow writers. You know, something RoosterTeeth doesn't seem to know. Because they abandoned their lore and world-building a long time ago. But enough bashing on the show, that's not what I'm here to do. This first volume will be much like the canon Volume 1: a character study more than anything else. Hope you enjoyed! Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 1: The Shining Beacon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As soon as the ship landed, the sickly passenger emerged out the door and went over to the nearest trash can, hunching over it as he lost his lunch. All of the other students, including Skyler, Yang, Dante, and Ruby, walked out of the ship and headed down the paved path to the front of the school. But not before Skyler stopped and patted the nauseas guy's back out of pity.</p><p>"Thanks..." the guy moaned.</p><p>Skyler then quickly joined the rest of his friends and they all took in the entirety of Beacon Academy, "Wow..."</p><p>"The view from Vale's got nothing on this!" Dante exclaimed.</p><p>Ruby got so excited she looked like she was going to start floating through the air, "Oh my gosh, guys! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!"</p><p>"Easy there, little sister," Yang said, pulling her sister back into reality by the hood, "They're just weapons."</p><p>"I have a fire sword, and yet you're excited to see someone else's..." Skyler muttered under his breath in mock hurt.</p><p>"'Just weapons'?!" Ruby cried out, "They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!"</p><p>"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon?" Yang asked, "Aren't you happy with it?"</p><p>Ruby brought out her weapon, transforming it into its scythe form, "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people... but better..."</p><p>Yang playfully pushed her sister's hood down over her face, "Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"</p><p>Ruby took off her hood and pouted, "But... why would I need friends if I have you guys?"</p><p>"Way to use my words against me," Dante muttered.</p><p>"Well..." suddenly, Yang grabbed Skyler and Dante by the arms and dashed down the road with a group of random students, "Actually-our-friends-are-here-Gotta-go-catch-up-'Kay-see-ya-bye!!"</p><p>Skyler and Dante barely had time to cry out in protest as Ruby's form just got smaller and smaller in the distance.</p><hr/><p>"Any particular reason why you dragged us over here and left poor Ruby to fend for herself?" Dante asked once Yang had stopped and let them go.</p><p>"Oh, please," Yang waved off, "I'm sure nothing bad will happen."</p><p>Skyler looked back just in time to see a small puff of red smoke rising back from where they left. He sweat-dropped, but decided on not saying anything about it right now.</p><p>Instead, he replied, "Add this to the list of reasons why you should never lead a team."</p><p>"Hey!" Yang huffed, her face flushing for a second while she crossed her arms, "At least it wasn't the bar <em>you</em> took us to."</p><p>"Ah, yes! The time where <em>you</em> almost killed the bartender via broken neck?" Skyler retorted with a smug grin.</p><p>"She was giving you the hungry 'I want your body' look."</p><p>"How would you know what that looks like? Or why would you even care?"</p><p>A blush spread across Yang's face, her blurting out, "No reason!!"</p><p>Skyler blinked confusingly before shrugging, "Whatever. Let's find where everyone's meeting up."</p><p>He started walking away and Yang let out a comedic sigh of relief. Dante just looked at her with a knowing smirk.</p><p>"Smooth."</p><p>"Shut it, Williams."</p><p>"I can't help it that you two are adorable."</p><p>Yang responded with a punch that smashed him into the concrete.</p><hr/><p>The three of them arrived in a large auditorium area, where they stood in the middle of a few random students (Dante: "Why does everyone here look like they're covered in shadows?") and waited for Ruby. Luckily, the aforementioned girl wasn't too far behind, entering the room with the Vomit Boy from earlier.</p><p>"Ruby!" Yang cried to her sister, waving, "Over here! We saved you a spot!"</p><p>Ruby said a quick goodbye to the Vomit Boy and made her way over to join them, her arms crossed while Yang said, "How's your first day going, little sister?"</p><p>"You mean since you guys ditched me and I exploded?" Ruby retorted.</p><p>"Yikes! Meltdown already?"</p><p>"And don't include us on that," Dante spoke up, pointing to himself and Skyler, "We were literally dragged along with her."</p><p>"I literally exploded a hole in front of the school!" Ruby exclaimed, "And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?"</p><p>"So that's what that was..." Skyler muttered.</p><p>Yang smiled broadly, "Are you being sarcastic?"</p><p>"I wish!" Ruby scoffed, unaware of the white-haired figure (not Dante) creeping up behind her, "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"</p><p>"You!!" the figure, a female in a white dress, yelled.</p><p>Ruby squeaked, quickly jumping into her sister's arms, "Oh gods, it's happening again!"</p><p>"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" the unnamed girl scolded.</p><p>"Oh my gods, you really exploded..." Yang muttered, astonished.</p><p>"Well, it clearly wasn't <em>too</em> bad, because they're both fine," Skyler put in.</p><p>"It was an accident," Ruby panicked, getting down, "It was an accident!"</p><p>The girl then held up a pamphlet titled 'DUST for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals' into Ruby's face, who asked, "What's this?"</p><p>The girl then started listing off policies to a clueless and horrified Ruby, going faster and higher pitched with each word, "The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field."</p><p>"Uuhhh..." Ruby replied dumbly.</p><p>"You really wanna start making things up to me?" the girl then asked.</p><p>"Absolutely?"</p><p>Ruby was then handed the pamphlet, "Read this, and don't ever speak to me again."</p><p>"Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot," Yang tried with an apologetic smile, "Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"</p><p>Ruby put the pamphlet away, "Yeah! Great idea, sis!"</p><p>She then held out her hand and cleared her throat, "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!"</p><p>The girl, Weiss Schnee, replied with fake enthusiasm, "Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and... scraggly over there!"</p><p>At that last one, she pointed at Vomit Boy, who picked up on the mention before Ruby exclaimed, "Wow, really?!"</p><p>Weiss was then dead silent, making a glare, "No."</p><p>"I, for one, am happy to see a fellow white-haired individual," Dante said, just as excited as Ruby previously was, sticking out his hand, "The name's Dante! I'd say 'pleasure to meet you', but at the same time, after what you've just said to my surrogate little sister here, I'm not sure if that would be entirely true."</p><p>Weiss glared at him in response, "Is this entire group here <em>always</em> this annoyingly over-enthusiastic?"</p><p>"Only on days that end in 'y'!" Skyler said, purposely sounding overly hyped to grate on this girl's nerves, which worked <em>spectacularly</em>.</p><p>But before Weiss could say anything, their attention was drawn to the stage, where Beacon's Headmaster, Professor Ozpin, was readying the microphone, with Glynda Goodwitch right beside him.</p><p>Ozpin spoke into the microphone, "I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step.</p><p>As Ozpin left, Glynda stepped up to talk, "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."</p><p>"He seemed kind of... off," Yang commented.</p><p>"It's almost like he wasn't even there," Ruby muttered.</p><p>Vomit Boy, who Skyler learned later was named Jaune Arc, then approached Weiss from the side, saying, "I'm a natural blond, you know!"</p><p>Weiss then face-palmed in exasperation.</p><hr/><p>The first night at Beacon, and all of the students were splayed out in sleeping bags. Ruby, in her pajamas and a sleeping mask wrapped around her head, was writing something down on paper when Yang crashed next to her, similarly dressed. Skyler and Dante sat next to them, but due to school rules, their sleeping bags were on the other side of the room (something the school apparently forgot about when assigning dorms).</p><p>"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang said with a wide grin.</p><p>"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though," Ruby replied, not looking up.</p><p>"I don't know," Dante shrugged, "We used to have sleepovers all the time when we were kids, and your dad didn't seem to have a problem with that."</p><p>"Yeah, when we were <em>kids</em>," Skyler emphasized, "I don't think Taiyang would approve of teenagers of the opposite sex who can be easily seduced by hormones sleeping anywhere near each other."</p><p>"Well, I know I do!" Yang purred, sneaking a glance at Skyler before turning her attention to several muscular, shirtless guys... before Jaune, dressed in feetie pajamas, passed by and waved, which made her grimace before she returned her attention to Ruby, "What's that?"</p><p>"A letter to the gang back at Signal," her little sister answered, "I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."</p><p>"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Yang teased before getting hit in the face by a pillow.</p><p>"Shut up!" Ruby scolded, "I didn't get to take any friends my age with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here besides my normal group."</p><p>"What about Jaune?" Yang suggested, "He's... nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"</p><p>Ruby turned on her back, "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..."</p><p>"Are negative friends even a thing?" Skyler asked curiously.</p><p>"I personally don't think so!" Yang replied, "You just made one friend and one enemy!"</p><p>Yang was then hit in the head with another pillow, this one looking like a dog's face, before continuing, "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"</p><p>"It's pillows like that that make me miss Zwei..." Dante muttered sadly.</p><p>The conversation was interrupted by the sound of a candle being lighted nearby, and they turned to see a girl with black hair and wearing a black bow on her head leaning against a wall, reading her book. Skyler blinked at her a few times. Why did he get a sense of... <em>familiarity</em> when he looked at her?</p><p>"That girl..." Ruby muttered.</p><p>"You know her?" Skyler asked out of genuine curiosity, hoping he wasn't the only one.</p><p>"Not really," the younger girl answered, much to Skyler's disappointment, "She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."</p><p>"Well, now's your chance!" Yang said eagerly, grabbing Ruby's arm and lifting her up.</p><p>Despite her little sister's protests, Yang dragged her over to the girl, loudly saying, "Hellooooooo!!"</p><p>Skyler and Dante ultimately decided to stay away from that noise and went back to their sleeping bags. But as they sat down, Dante caught Skyler staring at the bow-wearing girl.</p><p>"See something you like?" the white haired male teased.</p><p>Skyler's green eyes blinked in surprise before he turned his attention back to his friend, "What? No, it's just... she looks... familiar..."</p><p>"Really?" now Dante was intrigued, now glancing at the girl, "I don't recognize her."</p><p>"So it's just me..." Skyler groaned, "Now I sound insane."</p><p>"Hey, nothing crazy about false recognition! It happens more often than you think. Don't worry about it."</p><p>"Yeah... I guess you're right."</p><p>And just before the black-haired girl blew out the candle and darkened the room, she couldn't help but sneak a peak at Skyler, getting the same sense of recognition he did.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>In the original version, Skyler had a crush on Blake, but that plot point went nowhere, so I scrapped it. But they do share a connection that will remain a secret for now. Hope you enjoyed! Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 2: The First Step</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Walker Elliot awoke to the sound of a girl's high-pitched ranting, looking to the left through his drowsy brown eyes. He saw a guy with long black hair (which was in a ponytail) being woken up by a girl with orange hair in white/pink getup. Though that guy in particular didn't seem particularly bothered, Walker groaned at having to wake up to... this.</p>
<p>"It's morning! It's morning! Itttt's morninnng!!"</p>
<p>Luckily, he wasn't alone in his suffering. Hazel Tikal, still dressed in her blue pajamas, was rubbing her eyes in annoyance, looking at the hyper girl and silent boy as they left the room.</p>
<p>"Why would anybody be excited about this time of day?" Hazel complained, "The morning is evil."</p>
<p>"Preach it..." Walker replied, getting up, "I know we should probably be getting up at this time anyway, but I'd rather wake up on my own terms."</p>
<p>"Praise the gods, amen!" Dante cried out while flailing his arms wildly, just a few yards away from Walker and still splayed out on the floor.</p>
<p>"Look at it this way," Skyler said, helping his friend up, "At least it wasn't how <em>Ruby</em> usually wakes us up."</p>
<p>"Please don't remind me," Dante groaned, now on his feet, "I'm getting war flashbacks thanks to that whistle..."</p>
<p>"I don't even <em>want</em> to know," Hazel flinched at the guess of what they were talking about, "Because that sounds horrible."</p>
<p>"You have no idea..." Skyler grumbled, beginning to walk away, "Come on, Dante, let's get ready for the initiation."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"That's absolutely ridiculous!" Ruby exclaimed, unable to believe what her sister was suggesting, "That's like me telling Skyler that you have a cr-"</p>
<p>Yang's eyes widened as she saw who was entering the locker room, quickly covered her little sister's mouth, and hissed, "Not. One. More. Word. Got it?"</p>
<p>Ruby nodded, a bit confused, but understood once Yang let go and said cheerfully, "Good morning, guys!"</p>
<p>"Just because it's our first morning at Beacon doesn't mean it has to be <em>good</em>," Dante grumbled, opening his locker and taking out his twin axes, which were named Ebony &amp; Ivory accordingly.</p>
<p>"But thank you, you too," Skyler added, opening his own locker and bringing out his gun, named Kasai, "At least we woke up on somewhat of our own terms, <em>Ruby</em>."</p>
<p>"Psh," Ruby scoffed, "I can't even find my whistle right now. I know I packed it..."</p>
<p>"Thank the gods..." Dante muttered.</p>
<p>The conversation was interrupted by a sudden cry and a voice calling out, "I'm sorry!"</p>
<p>They looked to see Jaune pinned against a wall by his hood due to a spear, Weiss walking past him. Suddenly, Glynda's voice came over the loudspeaker.</p>
<p>
  <em>-Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately.-</em>
</p>
<p>A redhead, who Skyler recognized as Pyrrha Nikos, plucked the spear back, and walked away, saying to Jaune, "It was nice meeting you!"</p>
<p>"Likewise..." he groaned.</p>
<p>"Having some trouble there, lady-killer?" Yang teased as the four walked over to him.</p>
<p>"I don't understand," Jaune said, accepting Ruby's offered hand and lifting himself back up, "My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?"</p>
<p>"Calling her 'Snow Angel' probably wasn't the best start," Dante suggested due to what little he had heard from Jaune's conversation with the two other girls.</p>
<p>"Plus, there's a difference between confidence and arrogance," Skyler added, "From what I heard, you were more the latter than the former."</p>
<p>The male blonde whined as Ruby started leading him along, "Come on, Jaune, let's go."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Once they all arrived at Beacon Cliff, each student stepped on random steel tiles that lined the ground. When they all got in place Glynda and Ozpin, the former holding a tablet and the latter his signature mug, stepped up to explain the rules.</p>
<p>"For years, you have trained to become warriors," the Headmaster said, "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."</p>
<p>"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams," Glynda added, "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... <em>today</em>."</p>
<p>Skyler heard the sound of Ruby's incoherent whining before Ozpin continued, "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."</p>
<p>Skyler heard Ruby whine some more as the headmaster stated, "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."</p>
<p>"WHAT?!" Ruby cried out in disbelief.</p>
<p>"See?" the hyperactive girl said to her quiet friend, "I told you!"</p>
<p>"After you've partnered up," Ozpin began to wrap up, "Make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you <em>will</em> die. You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will reguard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"</p>
<p>Jaune shyly raised his hand, "Yeah, um, sir?"</p>
<p>"Good! Now, take your positions."</p>
<p>Everyone struck a pose on their respective tile. Skyler grabbed Kasai, seemingly ready for a quickdraw. Dante crouched slightly, bringing out both Ebony &amp; Ivory and getting in a stance. Hazel readied her own spear, named Arachne, sliding a finger over a button on it. And finally, Walker got into a stance with his sword, Barentain, keeping a finger on a trigger that was on the hilt.</p>
<p>"Uh, sir?" Jaune persisted, his hand still in the air, "I've got, um... a question."</p>
<p>In a flash, Walker was gone first, sprung into the air by a tile, Weiss right behind him.</p>
<p>"So, this landing... strategy thing..." Jaune said, not noticing the other students propelling off the ground at first, "Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"</p>
<p>"No," Ozpin answered as Dante flew into the air, "You will be falling."</p>
<p>"Oh, uh, I see..." Jaune replied as Dante disappeared from the ground, "So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"</p>
<p>"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."</p>
<p>And then Skyler was gone, really wishing he could've heard the rest of the conversation and also wondering how the heck that guy got into Beacon.</p>
<hr/>
<p>As Dante flew through the air and enjoyed the wind on his face, he began to slightly wish he had better weapons for a landing strategy. But luckily, he was able to time his swings right, hook onto enough branches with his axes, and land safely on the ground. As he dusted himself off, he heard a loud <em>thunk</em>, like something sticking to a tree.</p>
<p>Dante headed towards the sound and stopped when he saw a guy with black hair, a gray shirt, black pants, and a sword in the middle of being sheathed on his back. At the sound of Dante's footsteps, the guy turned to reveal that it was the same guy Dante had somewhat conversed with earlier that morning. The two locked eyes before Dante smiled widely.</p>
<p>"It's a small school after all!" he said, walking over and sticking out his hand, "The name's Dante Williams, partner! Yours?"</p>
<p>Dante's new partner blinked a few times, a bit taken aback by the amount of enthusiasm, but nevertheless shook his hand, "Walker Elliot."</p>
<p>"Well, nice to meet you, Walker! Now let's go find those relics, and maybe possibly some friends along the way!"</p>
<p>As they began walking, the black haired male turned to him with a raised eyebrow, "Are you always this enthusiastic, or...?"</p>
<p>"Oh, no, not all the time," Dante waved off, "I always like to make good first impressions, so I greet people as cheerily as I can. I might go a bit overboard at times, but I do try not being annoying."</p>
<p>Walker nodded, "I suppose that's understandable. And by finding your friends, I'm guessing you mean that guy you were hanging out with this morning?"</p>
<p>"Skyler? Oh yeah, we're practically brothers. We go <em>way</em> back. Though I am beginning to wonder how the heck he'll make it to the ground with that weapon of his. Then again, I made it just fine, and he's smarter than me, so who knows? He probably had a smooth landing."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Skyler did not have a smooth landing. Though initially stumped at how on Remnant he was going to land, he quickly pointed Kasai at the ground and pulled the trigger. Flames spewed out of the nozzle, somewhat slowing his descent to the ground, though not by much at first. When he felt as though he had slowed down enough, the brown haired boy released the trigger and found himself in free-fall. As he fell under the tree line, Skyler used the bladed part of Kasai to hook onto a branch, stopping the fall.</p>
<p>But not long after he caught his breath, the branch snapped and he tumbled down the tree before landing flat on his face. And just to add insult to injury, the branch that he had broken off bounced off of his back and landed beside him.</p>
<p>"Ow..." Skyler groaned, really thankful for Aura at the moment before getting up.</p>
<p>He jumped at the sound of shotgun blasts and looked up just in time to see a yellow blur shoot past him. Skyler grinned, knowing exactly who that was, especially after he heard her whoops and cheering. Yang <em>was</em> always a show off. Deciding to follow her, not having any complaints about having her as a partner should he not run into anyone else. It would be kinda nice, actually...</p>
<p>Skyler felt his face heat up at that last thought and he shook his head in protest. Nope. This wasn't Signal anymore. He was over that. Skyler sighed in exasperation at himself. Maybe if he kept telling himself that, it would eventually become true. Hopeless, one-sided crushes were not healthy. Yang was <em>way</em> out of his league anyway. She most likely only sees him as one of her childhood friends. Probably the only reason she still hung out with him-</p>
<p>His self-reprimanding thoughts were interrupted by a loud thunk just a few trees ahead of him. He skidded to a stop, but just a second too late. A spearhead had stuck into a nearby tree, a rope attached to it. A blue-shirted figure zoomed by, holding onto the other end of the rope, and began to wrap around the tree. Unfortunately, mid-swing, the figure accidentally slammed into Skyler, sending them both sprawling to the ground.</p>
<p>"Ow..." the figure, a dark-skinned female, said, pushing herself off of Skyler, "Sorry about that... You're not dead, are you?"</p>
<p>"Kinda wishing I was..." Skyler groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position and finally locked eyes with the girl.</p>
<p>He quickly recognized her as the girl from earlier that morning. She was wearing a blue shirt, as well as blue jeans, had dark skin with freckles located variously on her pretty face, and had long brown hair. She offered her hand, a bit embarrassed by what had just occurred.</p>
<p>"Sorry, again," she said, "The name's Hazel. Hazel Tikal. I guess that makes me your partner."</p>
<p>Skyler took her hand and she pulled him up, "My name's Skyler Yin, and yes, it appears that way."</p>
<p>Hazel walked back to the tree she had latched onto to retrieve her weapon. It appeared to be a spear, but with the spearhead attached to a long rope. However, once Hazel picked up the pole section of the spear, she pressed a button on it that pulled the rope into the pole, reattaching the spearhead to the rest of the weapon.</p>
<p>"Nice spear," Skyler complimented, "Hope you have a better landing strategy for it next time though."</p>
<p>"Oh, look who's talking, Mr. Bladed Gun," Hazel retorted with a sly grin, "Come up with any good strategies for landing with that thing?"</p>
<p>"Hey, I would've made it... that branch was just too weak to handle me."</p>
<p>The girl let out a laugh and pointed at him, "You. I like you. We're gonna be great partners, I can tell."</p>
<p>Skyler smirked as they began walking, "You think I'm funny, just wait until you meet my friend, Dante."</p>
<p>"He a jokester?"</p>
<p>"Sort of... less of laughing <em>with</em> him and more of laughing <em>at</em> him is a better analogy."</p>
<p>"Oh, we're gonna get along <em>great</em>."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And I suppose that should wrap up this chapter. I originally wanted a fight with a Grimm or two, but then I remembered that another chapter existed before "Players and Pieces", so be prepared for more action in the next chapter! Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 3: The Emerald Forest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"The last pair has been formed, sir," Ms. Goodwitch told Professor Ozpin, tapping the screen on her Scroll, "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy... I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos..."</p>
<p>As Ozpin let out a sound of acknowledgement, Glynda changes her screen to show to Pyrrha and Jaune's trek through the woods, "I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat."</p>
<p>She then switched the scene on her Scroll to the camera watching Dante and Walker, "At least these two seem to be able to get along. Surprising, considering Mr. Elliot's background... And as for Mr. Williams' friend..."</p>
<p>She then switched to Skyler and Hazel, "He seems to have found a decent partner. Though she claims to be a skilled fighter from Mistral, I'm still skeptical, seeing as how she got into this school."</p>
<p>Glynda then deactivated the tablet, turning around and walking away a little, "I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes. Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?"</p>
<p>When she was met with more silence, she turned back to the Headmaster, "Professor Ozpin?"</p>
<p>Ozpin didn't answer, watching his Scroll with a contemplating interest as it showed footage of Ruby sitting in the grass and picking stray leaves while her partner, Weiss, paced around, seemingly scolding her. He then switched over to Skyler, focusing in on the young man.</p>
<p>Only then did Ozpin reply, though he seemed to be speaking mostly to himself, "Perhaps we shall soon see what these chess pieces can do..."</p>
<hr/>
<p>As Skyler and Hazel, the two came across a small clearing, where a few trees were bent and broken, the latter looking around before saying, "What the heck happened to this area?"</p>
<p>Hazel then turned to see Skyler crouching down, "Uh, Skyler?"</p>
<p>Skyler picked a small strand of golden hair and paled at the realization of whose hair it was, "Whatever happened here... well, something died."</p>
<p>"Um... okay? Elaborate, please?"</p>
<p>Skyler gently set the hair back on the ground and looked forward to where there was a barely visible, but still noticeable path through the woods and pointed at it, "One of my childhood friends was here earlier, and probably fought with some Grimm. Judging by what I can tell, she took care of them and went that way. While I don't think she has the best sense of direction, I at least trust in her instincts and that she probably has a partner by now. So I say we follow the trail they left."</p>
<p>When he was met with silence, he turned his head around to see his partner with a bewildered look on her face, "What?"</p>
<p>"Nothing," she answered, "Just... didn't expect such an in depth explanation. You're smarter than I gave you credit for."</p>
<p>Skyler smirked, "Well, more like I know just as much about my childhood friends as I know about myself. Call it a sixth sense. Especially with this one. So, let's get moving and hope that she knows what she's doing."</p>
<p>Hazel just grew a blank expression, "Now I'm just <em>oozing</em> with confidence-"</p>
<p>She suddenly flinched and her green eyes flashed blue for a short second before she warned, "Duck."</p>
<p>Skyler looked at her, puzzled, "What?"</p>
<p>She leaped at him, "Get down!!"</p>
<p>The dark-skinned girl managed to grab him by the back of the head and send him to the ground. Just when he was about to ask why she did that, he caught a glimpse of a large, black silhouette flying over them before landing on the ground a few yards away. The two Hunters-in-training managed to swiftly get to their feet and saw exactly what they were up against. And at the sight of it, they both gulped. A Beowolf. And not just any kind of Beowolf, but an <em>Alpha</em> Beowolf.</p>
<p>Skyler looked at his partner and managed to say, "How did you kno-"</p>
<p>"I'll explain later!" Hazel replied, getting into a battle stance with Arachne, "We have more pressing issues at the moment!"</p>
<p>Skyler pulled out Kasai and morphed it into its sword mode, "Fair enough. But it just <em>had</em> to be an <em>Alpha</em> Beowulf, didn't it?"</p>
<p>The Grimm responded with a loud howl before gunning it for the two. It swung both of its arms at the trainees as if it was about to give them a killer hug, but they both ducked under the arms, Skyler proceeding to slash the Alpha in the side as he did. The Beowolf howled, but it seemed like all the blade did was scratch it. It swiftly turned around to grab at him, but the spearhead of Arachne shot at it, impaling the Grimm's paw to a nearby tree. It howled, but again, only seemed annoyed. Hazel pulled back the spearhead and it reattached to her spear.</p>
<p>"Okay, so normal hurting methods aren't gonna cut it," she muttered to Skyler, "We need something a little more unorthodox. Any ideas?"</p>
<p>"Well, Plan 1 was to cut it until it died," Skyler admitted, "But as a you stated, that isn't gonna work as well as we want. So we'll have to go with Plan 2."</p>
<p>"Which is?"</p>
<p>The Alpha charged at them again, and they dove out of the way as Skyler replied, "Run until we can come up with a Plan 3!!"</p>
<p>The two began to run in a circle around the Grimm, not giving it another chance to charge at the both of them. The enhanced Grimm then chose to swipe at Hazel with one of its paws, the girl barely managing to slide under it, its claws cutting off a small bit of her hair. But thanks to this distraction, Skyler jumped onto the Beowolf's back and firmly implanting Kasai into it. He was about to pull the trigger, but unfortunately, the Grimm shook wildly, knocking him off with his sword still in its back.</p>
<p>Skyler landed flat on his back (for the second time in less than an hour), and managed to get off his back just in time to see the Alpha prepared to maul him. But fortunately, the spearhead of Hazel's weapon suddenly shot through the front of its throat, and the girl yanked the cable, pulling the Grimm to the ground on its back, causing Skyler's weapon to be pushed further into its body. But somehow, the Alpha hung on, managing to get on all fours and let out a weak growl.</p>
<p>But then, Skyler jumped on its back again, grabbed Kasai's handle, and pulled the trigger. Flames burst out, the sword catching the Alpha on fire, and thus the howls of pain died down until the Grimm disintegrated into black smoke. The two Hunters in training bent over in relief, breathing hard and relishing in their victory for a short second.</p>
<p>"I suppose..." Skyler gasped, walking over to his partner and raising his fist with a grin, "That's Plan 3."</p>
<p>"I guess so," Hazel grinned back and the two fist bumped before walking away, "Why were your plans numbered, anyway? Usually it'd just be 'Plan A' and 'Plan B'."</p>
<p>"Bold of you to assume I'll only come up with twenty six plans."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Dante and Walker trudged through the forest, Dante finishing up a story to pass the time. Throughout it all, Walker just had an amused smile on his face. It was an... <em>odd</em> feeling. He hadn't exactly grown up with friends. Just mutual acquaintances from classes he took back in Signal. Even at home... Walker shook his head at the thought. It was unfair to think that it was anyone's fault about what his home life had been like. With his twin sister being the way she is, he couldn't exactly blame his parents for not being there for him. Still, that didn't stop him from wanting their attention.</p>
<p>"Hey!" Dante's voice shook him out of his thoughts, "You okay there? You blanked out on me."</p>
<p>"Huh? Oh, sorry," Walker replied, "Just... spaced out for a second there."</p>
<p>"Yeah, that's one way to put it," Dante's face grew oddly serious all of a sudden, "You alright, man?"</p>
<p>"Uh... yeah," Walker said, not being convincing at all, "Why do you ask?"</p>
<p>"Trust me, I know that look. Skyler wears that same one all the time when he's reminiscing on... well, <em>unpleasant</em> days, to say the least. You want to talk about it, or save it for another day?"</p>
<p>Walker was a bit taken aback, "You're... willing to wait?"</p>
<p>"We're gonna be partners for the rest of our time here, aren't we? I got four years to wait. Maybe even beyond that. Whenever you feel comfortable, just tell me!"</p>
<p>Dante gave a goofy grin, back to his not so serious mood, but Walker was struck with an odd feeling, and he muttered to himself, "Is this... is this how friends work?"</p>
<p>Unbeknownst to him, Dante heard and answered, "Well, duh! What, you've never had friends before?"</p>
<p>"...No."</p>
<p>Dante blinked at the straightforward answer, and grinned again, "Well then, Walker, it's an honor to be your first friend! Now, let's keep walking in this random direction until we find those artifacts that we have no idea what they are or where they're at! Surely, this is the greatest plan."</p>
<p>Walker snickered a bit, surprising himself, and responded, "Well then, I suppose staying an extra year at Signal was worth it."</p>
<p>"Wait, that was you?!" Dante exclaimed, "Dude, I knew I recognized your name from somewhere! I never met you then, so I never got to ask why you did that!"</p>
<p>"Uh... that's... well..."</p>
<p>"INCOMING!!!"</p>
<p>Reacting quickly, Dante and Walker dove out of the way just in time to avoid getting run over by... a bike? Sure enough, two girls on a bike, which had spikes on the wheels and other extensions that neither of the guys could get a good look at. On top of the bike were two girls, one with dirty blonde hair and a bright blue and green color schemed clothes was driving it, looking like she was having the time of her life, while the other girl, who had dark brown hair and a pink and black color scheme was hanging on to her partner for dear life, comedic tears gushing out of her eyes.</p>
<p>"AURIEL, SLOW DOWN!!!" the second girl cried, "WE ALMOST HIT SOMEONE!!!"</p>
<p>"OH, CALM DOWN, TATIANA!!!" the first girl, Auriel, yelled out in response before they hit a sudden bump and she looked to see what it was, "OH... UH OH!!!"</p>
<p>She quickly turned her head to the boys she nearly ran over, "I'M SORRY!!!"</p>
<p>Walker and Dante blinked a few times before getting back to their feet, the latter saying, "Uh... why do I get the feeling she wasn't apologizing for almost running us over?"</p>
<p>The question was answered by a loud thump that shook the ground. A large, black and white figure rose up, its head nearly rising over the tree line. Then, the thing made a loud trumpeting noise, shaking the two boys to their core.</p>
<p>"Oh... Uh oh."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Hold up," Skyler said to Hazel, not believing his ears, "You're telling me that your Semblance allows you to look forward in time?!"</p>
<p>"In short bursts and I only see a few seconds," Hazel explained, "And I don't exactly have control over them either. Like, I can activate it at will if I wanted to, but it's not like it helps that much in a battle scenario. I mean, I'm working on it, but manually activating it is useless if I can't react in time. Thankfully, it really only activates without my consent when I'm about to get sneak-attacked, so it's pretty useful for specific situations like that."</p>
<p>"Even so, that's really cool," Skyler complimented.</p>
<p>"So, now that I've told you mine, how about you tell me yours?"</p>
<p>"Oh... well, uh... I... don't have a Semblance yet..."</p>
<p>"Wait, seriously? Then how'd you get accepted into Beacon?"</p>
<p>Skyler rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Hard work? I don't know, maybe the Headmaster took pity on me."</p>
<p>"Why would he take pity on you?"</p>
<p>Skyler flinched as unwanted voices flooded his mind.</p>
<p>
  <em>"We have to go, NOW."</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"I can't believe they found us this quickly!"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"You won't be free of us, Skyler Yin!! Do you hear me?! YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE OF US!!!"</em>
</p>
<p>Skyler was silent for a few more seconds before shaking his head to try and clear his head, "It's... not important."</p>
<p>Hazel put a hand on his shoulder, "Look, clearly you've got something going on, but I'm not gonna force you to tell me about it. We've still got plenty of time for that. Besides, look up ahead."</p>
<p>Skyler looked up and saw a very large opening up ahead. Just a grassy plain in the middle of the forest, but in the center of it all, there was what looked to be a small, ruined altar. And at those ruins, the two spotted another pair already there, and Skyler grinned, glad that his instincts were right about Yang and her partner. And when Hazel and Skyler were about halfway there, the two girls spotted them, and Yang let out an excited cry and dashed over to them, leaving her partner temporarily in the dust.</p>
<p>Skyler had far gotten used to Yang's tackle-hugs, so he wasn't too bothered when she practically attached herself to him on his side, "Hey, Sky!!"</p>
<p>The boy couldn't help but crack a smile and wrap one arm around her shoulders to return the hug, his previous mood now lifted, "Sup, Firecracker?"</p>
<p>Hazel glanced back and forth between the two as they chuckled, getting a sneaking suspicion there was more to these two's relationship than her partner had let on. And she began to grin mischievously at that suspicion. But it was then that Skyler then saw who Yang's partner was as she walked up. It was the familiar looking black-haired girl from last night, dressed in black and white, had amber-colored eyes, and a black bow was tied atop of her head.</p>
<p>Skyler's smile dropped as he looked at her, that sinking sense of familiarity ringing throughout his body. All kinds of signals were going off in his head, none of them good. Those golden eyes seemed to pierce right through him, and he was struck with the realization; she recognized him too, and was experiencing the same problem he was. They <em>had</em> met before, but the details were completely lost on both of them.</p>
<p>Thankfully, this entire thought process didn't last as long as it seemed, since Yang spoke up, "Oh, where are my manners? Skyler, this is my partner, Blake!"</p>
<p>The two snapped out of their strange trance, and Blake extended her hand out to him, "Belladonna. Blake Belladonna."</p>
<p>Skyler took her hand and shook, "Skyler Yin."</p>
<p>Heck, even their <em>name</em> sounded familiar to the other. But the two managed to keep their composure as Yang's attention switched to Hazel as she stretched out her own hand, "And you're his partner?"</p>
<p>Hazel smiled and the two shook hands, "Yup! My name's Hazel Tikal. And you must be Yang. Skyler's talked about you."</p>
<p>"Oh, has he?" Yang smiled mischievously, looking back at her friend.</p>
<p>Skyler blushed a bit before replying, "Kinda had to, considering we arrived upon the aftermath of one of your skirmishes in the woods."</p>
<p>"Talked more about it than he should have," Hazel added with a grin, now with the fuel she needed to add to this fire.</p>
<p>Skyler shot his partner with a look that said 'You are not making this better!!'. Thankfully, a loud, high-pitched scream ripped through the air, causing them all to get startled and look around.</p>
<p>"Some girl's in trouble!!" Yang exclaimed, "Guys, did you hear that?"</p>
<p>"Uh... Yang?" Skyler replied while looking up, causing the others to look up as well.</p>
<p>And they saw one Ruby Rose falling out of the sky towards them.</p>
<p>"HEADS UUUUUUPPPPPP!!!"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Man, this chapter was actually longer than expected... Oh well, I don't think anyone's complaining. So many character interactions and making a fight with an Alpha Beowolf. As well as a cameo from two of H20FLAME's characters, who will get a larger role later on in this story. But if this is how long this chapter got, I cannot wait until next chapter! Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 4: Players and Pieces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"HEADS UUUUUUPPPPPP-OOF!!!"</p>
<p>As Ruby's flailing form plummeted towards the ground, it was soon intercepted by another flying body. Skyler managed to spot a tuft of blond hair and deduced that it was Jaune. And with that, the two crashed into a nearby tree. The group on the ground blinked a few times at the scene that had played before them.</p>
<p>"Did... did your sister just fall out of the sky?" Blake asked her partner.</p>
<p>Yang was just as stupefied, "I-"</p>
<p>But before she could finish, they heard several crashing noises from the tree line. They all looked to see an Ursa stumble out of the woods and the four got ready to fight. But then their expressions morphed back into confusion as they saw the orange-haired girl from earlier that morning riding on top of its back, cheering like a maniac before the Grimm collapsed to the ground, dead, sending the girl and another person, a guy dressed in green with long black hair with a pink streak in it, tumbling to the ground.</p>
<p>The girl got up first and examined the Ursa as it disintegrated, "Aw, it's broken..."</p>
<p>"Nora..." the guy said to her, "Please... Don't ever do that again..."</p>
<p>But then he looked up and noticed that his partner had disappeared. The four observers blinked again, realizing that they hadn't noticed her vanish either. They turned around to see Nora staring at the chess pieces that were on pedestals in the ruined altar. She then grabbed a white rook piece and began to prance around with it.</p>
<p>"I'm queen of the castle~!" she sang, "I'm queen of the castle~!"</p>
<p>"NORA!!!" the guy exclaimed, throwing her off balance.</p>
<p>But Nora just giggled, "Coming, Ren!"</p>
<p>"Did that girl just... ride in on an <em>Ursa</em>?" Hazel asked in disbelief.</p>
<p>"I-" Yang tried again, but was interrupted again, this time by a screech coming from another point in the tree line.</p>
<p>Pyrrha came out of the woods, running for her life as she was chased by a giant Death Stalker Grimm, and she yelled, "Jaune!!"</p>
<p>"Pyrrha!!" came a voice from the tree Ruby and Jaune had crashed into.</p>
<p>Suddenly, there were two loud cries of pain before two figures came flying from over the trees and face-planted next to the four onlookers. Skyler and Yang looked down and immediately recognized that white hair and red jacket.</p>
<p>"Dante?" Skyler said.</p>
<p>Dante peeked up at his friends as Walker got to his feet, "Skyler?"</p>
<p>And then, Ruby burst out of her tree and landed on her feet next to them, causing Yang to say, "Ruby?"</p>
<p>Ruby looked at her sister and exclaimed, "Yang!"</p>
<p>And then Nora burst up from out of nowhere, "NORA!!!"</p>
<p>Blake still had her eyes glued to Pyrrha as the redhead tried to fight off the giant scorpion, "Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?"</p>
<p>At that point, Yang had had enough as flames flicked all around her at her anger, "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR <em>TWO</em> SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?!?!"</p>
<p>Exactly two seconds passed by before Ruby pointed up and Yang slouched in defeat, "Uh... Yang?"</p>
<p>Everyone looked up to see a giant Nevermore Grimm flying through the air above them, and they spotted Weiss hanging from one of its claws, shouting, "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!?!"</p>
<p>"I said 'jump'," Ruby retorted, even though Weiss couldn't hear her.</p>
<p>"She's gonna fall," Skyler stated.</p>
<p>"She'll be fine," Ruby waved off.</p>
<p>"She's falling," Walker responded plainly.</p>
<p>As Weiss began to plummet to the ground, Jaune must've seen his chance and dove out of the tree and managed to actually catch Weiss in his arms. Unfortunately, he forgot momentum existed. And the two crashed onto the ground, Jaune becoming Weiss' landing pillow.</p>
<p>"My hero," she said sarcastically as she got up.</p>
<p>"My back..." Jaune groaned, momentarily losing feeling in his everything.</p>
<p>It was... quite a lot to process all at once for Skyler. First, Ruby and Jaune drop in (pretty much literally), then Ren and Nora ride in on top of an Ursa, then Pyrrha freaking Nikos was being chased/fighting off a Death Stalker, <em>then</em> Dante and his partner come flying in from out of nowhere, and finally, Weiss had plummeted towards them only to get not-really saved by Jaune... Yeah, Skyler knew that he'd need to take a long rest when this day ended.</p>
<p>Then, Pyrrha collapsed next to them, and at this point, Yang had just decided to go with the flow, "Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!"</p>
<p>"Not if I can help it!" Ruby exclaimed before charging towards the Deathstalker with a battle cry.</p>
<p>"Ruby, wait!!" Yang yelled, but her sister was already there.</p>
<p>The rest of them couldn't do anything by watch for now as Ruby fired Crescent Rose at the oncoming Death Stalker. When the two met, the Grimm swiped her away.</p>
<p>"D-Do-Don't worry!" Ruby tried to reassure as she slowly got up, "Totally fine!"</p>
<p>Luckily, Ruby wasn't an idiot. She fired one last shot at the Grimm's skull, to little effect, and took off back towards them, Yang running to meet her halfway. But then the Nevermore cawed above them, flapping its wings and releasing lines of sharpened feathers with points that caught on Ruby's cape and prevented Yang from reaching her.</p>
<p>"Ruby, get out of there!!" the blonde cried.</p>
<p>"I'm trying!" Ruby replied, struggling with her cloak.</p>
<p>The Death Stalker was upon the younger girl now, raising its golden stinger and ready to strike. At this point, Skyler and Dante were panicking and decided to dash for their two friends, but deep down, they both knew they weren't fast enough to reach even Yang in time. But suddenly, a white blur zoomed past them, stopped next to Ruby, and created a giant ice wall that trapped the scorpion's tail.</p>
<p>The two guys skidded to a halt next to Yang to see Weiss scolding Ruby, but also seemed to be giving constructive criticism in a kind way. The three observers all let out a big sigh of relief that Ruby at least turned out okay. So as soon as Ruby made her way over to them, Yang enveloped her little sister in a hug.</p>
<p>"I'm so happy you're okay..." Yang muttered.</p>
<p>As soon as she let go, Ruby then made her way to Skyler and Dante, and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, "Sorry about that, guys..."</p>
<p>The two boys found that they really couldn't stay angry at that face, so their unsupportive frowns dropped to exasperated smiles, and they opened their arms and Dante said, "Alright, get over here, ya little gremlin."</p>
<p>Ruby just grinned widely and the three shared a short group hug, which was interrupted by Walker, who tapped on Dante's shoulder and said, "Uh, not to ruin this touching moment, but that Nevermore is circling back around. What do we do?"</p>
<p>"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying," Weiss spoke, walking up to them, "Our objective is right in front of us."</p>
<p>Everyone then turned to look at the chess pieces at the ruined altar as Ruby nodded to Weiss, "She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."</p>
<p>"Run and live..." Jaune summarized, "That's an idea I can get behind."</p>
<p>And with that, the remaining pairs who hadn't picked up a relic picked one up. Ruby grabbed a white knight piece, Jaune picked up a white rook piece, and Skyler and Dante grabbed a white bishop piece each. But it was then that Weiss' ice started to crack around the Death Stalker's stinger, putting a bit more tension in the air.</p>
<p>"It's time we left," Ren stated, and they all began to head in the direction of their starting point.</p>
<p>Ruby lead the way, causing Yang to pause and stare at her little sister proudly, and Blake stopped next to her and ask, "What is it?"</p>
<p>Yang just smiled, "Oh, nothing."</p>
<p>They took off again, while Skyler, Dante, Hazel, and Walker trailed behind, and the former asked the second, "By the way, what happened to cause you and your partner to get thrown into the open anyway?"</p>
<p>Dante's face morphed into a nervous expression, "Uh... well..."</p>
<p>"Hopefully nothing that'll come after us," Walker answered for him.</p>
<p>"Why doesn't that reassure me?" Hazel retorted.</p>
<p>"It's not really supposed to," Dante replied with a grin, and Hazel blinked at him a few times before turning away with a blush.</p>
<p>Skyler noted that little exchange before thinking with a smirk, 'Oh, this is gonna be a fun four years.'</p>
<hr/>
<p>The group of twelve arrived in an open area near the base of the cliffs where they started, ruined architecture littered around them with a broken down temple at the cliff's base. They all hid behind a group of ruined columns when the Nevermore flew overhead and landed on the temple's dome and screeched.</p>
<p>"Well, that's great," Yang said, annoyed.</p>
<p>Just then, the Death Stalker burst out of the trees behind them, prompting Jaune to yell, "Ah, man, run!!"</p>
<p>And with that, the group split up. Skyler, Dante, Hazel, and Walker dove to the side of the columns while the others made a run for the ruined temple, the Death Stalker following them. But as soon as they got on top of a stone bridge, the Nevermore swooped in and crashed into the structure, splitting the group again. Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren were stuck with the Death Stalker, and Jaune, Nora, Ruby, Yang, and Weiss were stuck with the Nevermore.</p>
<p>At this, Skyler turned to his group and said, "Come on, we gotta help-"</p>
<p>Suddenly, a loud trumpeting sound echoed throughout the area, causing the group of four to shake with the ground. There were then loud footsteps and the sounds of trees crashing before a giant figure burst from the tree line behind them. They turned to see a Goliath Grimm charging towards them before coming to a stop and bellowing out another loud trumpet from its long trunk, it's eyes burning with anger. At first, Skyler wondered why on Remnant this thing was trying to kill them, but then recalled the brief conversation he had with Dante and Walker earlier.</p>
<p>He turned to the other two boys and said, "Care to explain?"</p>
<p>"Now, I know it looks bad..." Dante replied, "But to keep things short... it wasn't our fault."</p>
<p>"Likely story."</p>
<p>"I'm serious!"</p>
<p>But before they could argue further, the Grimm before them charged. Skyler, Dante, and Walker dove out of the way again while Hazel shot out Arachne's spearhead and latched it to a nearby column, using her weapon to propel herself away.</p>
<p>Once she landed on her feet, she said to her partner, "Any ideas?"</p>
<p>Skyler was quiet for a moment, before turning to the other two, Dante saying as soon as he did, "Don't look at me, you're the planning guy."</p>
<p>Skyler looked back and forth between his group, his mind racing. He then stared down the Goliath, which in turn glared at him with a hateful look. Skyler then smirked, switching Kasai into its sword mode.</p>
<p>"Hit it until it dies. And improvise along the way."</p>
<p>
  <em>I know what I have to do now</em>
  <br/>
  <em>It's my life</em>
  <br/>
  <em>My one and only!!</em>
</p>
<p>And with that, the four Hunters in training charged, the Goliath returning the same action in kind. Skyler slid under the elephant's legs and slashed at its belly, hoping there was a soft spot. No such luck. He just counted himself lucky that he was able to make his way back out into the open. Once he did, he switched Kasai back into its gun mode and shot flames at the Grimm's side, but to just as much effect as the blade.</p>
<p>
  <em>I've wiped my tears a hundred times</em>
  <br/>
  <em>But the regret, it wants to linger</em>
  <br/>
  <em>It's nothing new, I'm used to it</em>
  <br/>
  <em>'Cause simple days are in the past</em>
</p>
<p>Hazel, on the opposing side of the Goliath as compared to Skyler, tried stabbing that side, and while it seemed to be having a bit more effect than Skyler's slashes (the obsidian that the spearhead was made from was surprisingly pretty sharp), it was doing little more than agitating a Grimm that size, like multiple minor bee stings. It swung its trunk at her, and managed to hit her dead on, but Hazel recovered midair and shot Arachne at the nearest column. She hooked onto the top of it and perched there, contemplating her next move.</p>
<p>
  <em>(Follow my way)</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I'll aim ahead, my fear, I'll fight it</em>
  <br/>
  <em>(Follow my way)</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Won't stop till I've surpassed my limit</em>
</p>
<p>Dante and Walker stayed in the way of the Goliath's path, though they didn't stay there long. Dante combined his axes to form its crossbow mode, Yamato, and began to open fire, running toward Hazel's side of the beast. It may not have done much, but it did distract the Grimm long enough for Walker to press a button on Barentain, and suddenly, the blade dissected itself so that it now looked like a bladed whip. He then whipped it so that it wrapped around of the Grimm's tusks, and then propelled onto that tusk via his Semblance, Aerokinesis (Air Manipulation). Walker proceeded to turn his weapon back into a sword and begun slashing at the Goliath's face, only to get thrown off for his troubles.</p>
<p>
  <em>My dreams are never boring</em>
  <br/>
  <em>They're thrilling and buzzing with life</em>
  <br/>
  <em>(I know what I have to do now)</em>
</p>
<p>Skyler observed what Walker did, and a plan conspired in his head, so he shouted to his group, "Guys!! Aim for the eyes!! If we can blind it, I've got an idea!!"</p>
<p>"On it!!" Hazel replied, aiming Arachne very carefully.</p>
<p>After a few seconds, she then fired the spearhead at the Goliath's left eye, and her aim was true. The Grimm bellowed in pain as the spearhead impaled in its eye socket, but it also brought down Hazel from her column by swerving its head. She let out a yelp as she plummeted towards the ground, but she was intercepted by Dante, who luckily had a better time catching her than Jaune had with Weiss. Though they did go sprawling to the ground anyway, it was still better than the alternative.</p>
<p>
  <em>Many roads at this crossing</em>
  <br/>
  <em>But finally, I've found one that's mine</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I know it will lead me right</em>
</p>
<p>The two didn't have to time for thanks and apologies (the two Hunters in training had rolled on top of each other), as the Goliath turned on them, now angrier than ever. But as it charged, Dante readied Yamato and activates his Semblance, Vision Enhancement, which pretty much let him have sniper scope vision. He zoomed in on the elephant's remaining eye and fired. His shot was dead on, and the Goliath roared in pain again and toppled to the ground, though it was slowly starting to get back up.</p>
<p>
  <em>Make my story! </em>
  <br/>
  <em>For sake of this life that burns bright, </em>
  <br/>
  <em>I'll continue the fight</em>
</p>
<p>"Alright, man!!" Dante yelled at his childhood friend, "It's up to you!!"</p>
<p>"Right!!" Skyler replied, dashing towards the beast, aiming Kasai at the ground and propelling himself onto the Goliath's back, turning his weapon back into a sword.</p>
<p>
  <em>I'll take aim and won't miss</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I'll make it a promise</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I wanna live with this vow in my mind</em>
  <br/>
  <em>(Make my story!)</em>
</p>
<p>Skyler ran on top of the monster, making a break for the head. As he ran, he continuously slashed its back, though it still wasn't having that much of an effect. At last, he managed to get to the head, despite all of the shaking the Grimm was doing.</p>
<p>
  <em>I know that someday, tears they may</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Fall again down my face</em>
</p>
<p>Skyler leaped down and took a hold of one of the beast's tusks and prepared to aim at its face with Kasai now a gun. But, feeling the intruder on him, the elephant shook wildly, trying knock him off, and even charged headfirst into a pillar, shattering the ruined structure, but Skyler held on. And with great difficulty, he finally managed to aim Kasai directly for the Goliath's open mouth.</p>
<p>"You may be hard to kill from the outside... but how about <em>this</em>?!"</p>
<p>
  <em>But we're in this together</em>
  <br/>
  <em>It will last forever</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Keep our dream strong</em>
  <br/>
  <em>So it continues on!!</em>
</p>
<p>Skyler pulled the trigger and a large torrent of flames sprayed from Kasai's nozzle and inside the Goliath, via its mouth. It would have bellowed again had its vocal cords not been burnt to a crisp. And Skyler did not let up on the trigger until the Grimm finally stopped moving and begun to sink to the ground, and he let go of the tusk.</p>
<p>
  <em>ONE AND ONLY!!!</em>
</p>
<p>And with that, Skyler landed on the ground on one knee. And as he breathed heavily, the Goliath collapsed to the ground, and its body started to dissolve. He then fell on his butt as his group ran up to him, breathing just as heavily as he was.</p>
<p>"You know..." Walker stated, "I'll have to admit... not the smartest plan... but it worked."</p>
<p>"That about sums up most of our plans," Dante responded with a grin.</p>
<p>"And luckily," Hazel said, pointing towards the cliff, "I don't think the others need our help now."</p>
<p>And the group looked up just in time to see Ruby being shot straight for a trapped Nevermore. Judging by the sight, the Death Stalker has presumably been dealt with, and now the giant bird was at the end of its rope. Ruby's scythe caught the Grimm in the neck and brought them both to the cliff face. A series of Weiss' glyphs then appeared at Ruby's feet and lead all the way up the cliff. Ruby then proceeded to drag the beast all the way up to the edge, where the Nevermore was promptly decapitated.</p>
<p>And with that, the trial was over, and they were all official students of Beacon.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Auriel Hawk, Tatiana Epona," Ozpin called out at the registration ceremony, "Uriel Seraph, and Meta Simuna. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team ATUM (Autumn), led by... Auriel Hawk."</p>
<p>There was some applause, and the next group walked up.</p>
<p>"Skyler Yin, Hazel Tikal, Dante Williams, and Walker Elliot. The four of you retrieved the white bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will be known as Team SHDW (Shadow)."</p>
<p>Skyler nodded a bit, thinking the team name was pretty cool. Then his eyes widened. That word started with an 's', so that meant-</p>
<p>"Led by... Skyler Yin."</p>
<p>Skyler was stunned. Yeah, he had come up with the plan that defeated the Goliath, but... he then blinked as the applause went off and he looked at Ozpin, who gave a nod and a slightly mischievous smirk. The now team leader had his head in the clouds as he and his team walked away to their seats, and continued to stay that way up until he managed to snap himself out of it when he heard familiar names being called.</p>
<p>"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee," Ozpin spoke, "Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose."</p>
<p>If his place as team leader caused him to question the Headmaster's reasoning, <em>that</em> certainly did. Though most cheered and were happy (Yang tackled her sister in a hug), Skyler couldn't help but look at Ozpin with a raised eyebrow as he clapped. What had Ruby <em>done</em> to gain Ozpin's attention that night?</p>
<p>"It looks like things are shaping up to be an..." Ozpin pauses for a moment, "<em>Interesting</em> year."</p>
<p>And Skyler couldn't help but agree.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that completes this chapter! Man, I had a lot of fun with this one! Especially when I included the song, which was actually AmaLee's English cover of "Make My Story", the fifth opening for My Hero Academia. I just thought it fit. Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 5: The Badge and the Burden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dante was always told that the first day of school was the best one. No homework, no work in general really, and just sitting there, listening to the teacher list off rules you are already pretty familiar with thanks to past first day at school experiences.</p>
<p>By the end of the day, he wanted to take whoever started that rumor and slam their face into the dirt.</p>
<p>After initiation, the newly formed Team SHDW had found their way to their new dorm room, where Hazel then immediately set up some ground rules. Dante wondered why Skyler wasn't the one discussing that topic, but considering Hazel's female status, he could at least understand why she'd want to keep her own privacy a safe distance away from three not-quite-sexually-mature-yet teenage boys.</p>
<p>But back in the present, Dante started to wake up groggily, taking a tired look around the room. Hazel and Walker were both still fast asleep, but Skyler was already up, dressed and unpacking various clothes to put in the nearby dresser. Dante was a bit surprised by this, as this was the same guy who agreed with him about how the morning was evil, but perhaps Skyler just wanted to set a good example to two people he had quite literally just met yesterday who he would work closely with and <em>lead</em> for the next four years.</p>
<p>And just as Dante started to rub his eyes, a loud whistling sound echoed all around them. Hazel and Walker shot up in their respective beds, Skyler fell backwards onto his butt, and Dante just straight up fell out of his bed and hit his head on the floor, and then the rest of his body slowly followed suit. The team all looked at each other, all with frizzled hair, droopy eyes, and a sudden urge to kill whatever made that sound. Skyler and Dante looked at each other, and a quiet understanding passed between them. The two childhood friends knew and spoke as one.</p>
<p>"We are going to <em>murder</em> her."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Unfortunately, none of them got the chance to do so, as Team RWBY came barreling into their first class with just ten seconds to spare. By that point, neither Skyler nor Dante had the will or consciousness necessary to be angry anymore at the aforementioned team's leader, but Ruby was still left wondering why the rest of Team SHDW were giving her a nasty look.</p>
<p>Unlike Dante's previous first days, it seemed as though the teachers already expected you to know practically everything after the first minute of class was over. While a nice change of pace, it was quite the culture shock, as Dante didn't expect to be writing notes that soon into the class period. But he did manage to at least catch the basics as to who taught what.</p>
<p>Professor Peach taught their first class of the day, about a strange combination of Dust and World Geography. A bit much to pile onto one teacher, but she had assured she could handle it. Apparently, she only taught Dust until very recently, when the previous World Geography teacher, Professor Bullock, was fired for numerous cases of verbal abuse, and was finally only able to get fired when a student snapped and attacked him, though at the cost of that student getting expelled. Thankfully, it was a pretty laid back class, despite the two subjects and painful note-taking, so it was perfect for a first class of the day.</p>
<p>Professor Oobleck taught their second class, World History, and Dante immediately knew he was gonna have the most difficult time in this class. Not that he didn't like history, it's just that Oobleck spoke as though he had downed enough coffee to kill an elephant two times over right before class started. Then there was lunch, where SHDW found their spot sitting with RWBY and Team JNPR. Professor Goodwitch taught their third class, which was Combat. The good news was that there was no note-taking; the bad news was that Goodwitch was an extremely strict teacher. Dante felt that icy cold stare pierce into his soul when he accidentally let out a yawn.</p>
<p>And finally, the fourth and last class was Grimm Studies, taught by Professor Port. It was certainly... a class. Dante couldn't help but stare at the teacher with an open mouth (which was shared by the rest of his team) as the professor began a rant about a story from when he was an aspiring teenager like them. How that man kept his job, Dante will never know. But the upside was that it made a surprisingly good last class of the day, as there was little to no note-taking, most of it was taken up by a rant/story, and might actually have the potential to teach something in the future.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, not everyone seemed to share that opinion at the moment. He looked to his right to see Hazel's eyes blinking furiously, as if trying to pay attention, but it was not something her brain was meant to pay attention to. He then realized he was staring at her face for too long before swiftly turning to look in front of him at Team RWBY. More specifically, Ruby, who, for the entirety of the first day, had been sleeping, getting smacked awake before Goodwitch noticed, goofing around, or some strange combination of the three. And maybe the occasional paying attention, as Dante obviously hadn't devoted <em>all</em> of his own attention to his younger friend. It really only made him question more about Headmaster Ozpin's decision to let Ruby in early.</p>
<p>And both fortunately and unfortunately, he was not alone in those thoughts, as he saw Weiss glaring a hateful glare at her partner as Ruby was beginning to fall asleep. And quite conveniently, Port was currently listing off all of the aspects that make a great Hunter, none of which Ruby was embodying at the moment. So when what happened next happened, Dante couldn't say he was all too surprised.</p>
<p>Professor Port announced, "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"</p>
<p>Weiss then angrily raised her hand, "I do, sir!"</p>
<p>And Port immediately took upon that opportunity to start up the <em>real</em> show, "Well then, let's find out!"</p>
<p>He then pulled in a large container that would not stop shaking and growling. Everyone's eyes went wide at the sight that this professor had actually caught a Grimm just for a simple act of showmanship for the unfortunate someone to accidentally volunteer to do. Even Weiss looked a bit hesitant once she gazed her eyes upon the cage.</p>
<p>"Step forward, and face your opponent!"</p>
<hr/>
<p>While Weiss went back to change into her combat gear, the classmates began to murmur among themselves about the situation.</p>
<p>"Anyone else think that this is a little... dangerous?" Dante asked, "Especially for a first day?"</p>
<p>"I know, right?" Skyler replied, "The closest to this we've gotten is Qrow's demonstrations back at Signal, and even those were pretty lax. Catching a Grimm just to bring it into a classroom and put everyone inside within potential danger? That's a bit much, even if Port is a professional Huntsman."</p>
<p>"Oh, come on, lighten up!" Yang shot back, "I think it's a great idea! We're being treated seriously, like he knows we can defend ourselves!"</p>
<p>"Well... fair enough, I suppose," Jaune responded, "But still..."</p>
<p>"Oh, shape up!!" Nora exclaimed with a grin, slapping her leader on the back, inadvertently slamming his face into the desk, "This is gonna be fun!"</p>
<p>"If anything, it would be fun to see Weiss get knocked around for a bit," Hazel muttered.</p>
<p>"What?" Walker asked, confused.</p>
<p>"Nothing!"</p>
<p>But before anyone could question SHDW's second in command, Weiss walked back into the room, wearing her regular attire, readying Myrtenaster at the growling creature in the cage. Her teammates turned back to observe and cheer on their teammates from their seats in the front row.</p>
<p>"Goooo, Weiss!"</p>
<p>"Fight well!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, represent Teeeeam RWBY!"</p>
<p>At that last one, which had been spoken by Ruby, Weiss lowered her sword and glared at her "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"</p>
<p>"Oh, um... Sorry..." Ruby apologized sheepishly.</p>
<p>"Alllright!" Port announced next to the cage, pulling out his axe, "Let the match... begin!!"</p>
<p>The professor swung down and broke the lock, dropping the cage door and revealing a Boarbatusk inside, which immediately charged at Weiss, who used her rapier to deflect its attack and roll to the side, readying herself for its next move.</p>
<p>"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port commentated</p>
<p>"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby encouraged, though that most likely had the opposite effect.</p>
<p>Weiss sped towards the oncoming Boarbatusk, aiming the point of her blade straight at its skull, but unfortunately, Myrtenaster ended up trapped in between the beast's tusks, to which Port said, "Bold, new approach. I like it!"</p>
<p>"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby cheered, and though it was a bit quieter than the rest of her cheers, Weiss still heard, and she glared at her partner, only for the Boarbatusk to turn its head and rip the rapier from her grip.</p>
<p>Myrtenaster landed far away from its master, who in turn was knocked back by the creature's tusks, causing Port to comment, "Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?"</p>
<p>Weiss looked up just in time to see the Boarbatusk charging at her again, so she rolled out of the way just in time to avoid getting trampled. She then rushed towards her rapier and slid to get it back in her hand.</p>
<p>"Weiss! Go for its belly!" Ruby advised, "There's no armor underneath-"</p>
<p>"Stop telling me what to do!!!" Weiss retorted harshly, causing Ruby to flinch.</p>
<p>And at that, Dante couldn't help but feel the increasing tension in the air, not being the result of the fight with the Grimm. While Ruby's cheering could get annoying to some, at least they were said with only the best of intentions. That's just how Ruby was. But there was clearly something unresolved between her and her partner, and Weiss was having none of it. Dante may not have been all too bright (by his own admission), but he had spotted Weiss' look when Ozpin announced Ruby's leadership status at the ceremony. And she had yet to move on from it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Boarbatusk leapt into the air and rolled into a ball, spinning rapidly in the air and landing on the ground, consistently gaining speed until it launched itself at Weiss. In retaliation, Weiss activated one of her glyphs and blocked the roll, leaping up into another one so she could propel herself towards the Grimm and drive the blade of her weapon into its stomach. It squealed, but soon fell silent and disintegrated while Weiss gasped in relief.</p>
<p>"Bravo! Bra-vo!" Port congratulated, "It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training! But I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"</p>
<p>Weiss made one last glare at her partner and turned away, walking hurriedly to the exit past her teammates, causing Jaune to ask, "Sheesh, what's with her?"</p>
<p>"I think she's got a serious case of 'butthurt'" Hazel retorted, "Somebody call the Wah-bulence."</p>
<p>"What's with you?" Skyler asked his partner, "You seem more... hostile all of a sudden."</p>
<p>"I'll... tell you later."</p>
<p>Dante, meanwhile, spotted Ruby attempt to chase down Weiss, and immediately decided to follow. He had a bad feeling about what was going to happen, and he was not gonna let his younger childhood friend get a harsh lecture from someone like Weiss.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Ozpin made a mistake."</p>
<p>Oh, that was the last straw. Dante had barely managed to keep his composure while Weiss had gone off on an arrogant rant to rival Professor Port on how she should have been the team leader, but with that last line... that was it. He was not gonna let Weiss walk away with that one, as she was doing right now. So he was gonna try to fix this problem just like he fixed his other ones: joke shamelessly.</p>
<p>"Please, someone like <em>you</em> can't be leader of Team RWBY," he said, stepping out from his hiding place, catching the two's attention, "Neither your first name or last name start with an 'R'. Ruby's got you beat on both of those fronts."</p>
<p>Weiss, now appalled at his criticism, turned all of her anger from Ruby onto him, "Naming doesn't matter! She doesn't deserve the position she got! Besides, who asked you? This is none of your business!"</p>
<p>"Please, I've known Ruby since I was five years old," Dante retorted, still with an unwavering grin, "She's practically my little sister. It's plenty my business when someone starts blatantly bullying her in front of me. Same could be said for my own leader, who, unlike you, I have no doubts about."</p>
<p>Weiss snarled at him, "And what would you know?! You're a braindead idiot who probably got into this school by fluke and not by any actual credentials!"</p>
<p>Okay... that had hurt a lot more than expected. In fact, it straight up caught Dante off guard. Even Ruby, who had up until then been a nervous observer, was actually starting to look mad. It was at that moment that the thought of antagonizing Weiss may not have been the smartest move, but now he was more determined than ever to knock her down a peg. And though his smile wavered a bit, he still continued to speak.</p>
<p>"I don't know if you've noticed, <em>Ice Queen</em>," he seethed through his grin, "But not all of us come from the richest of the rich. Some of us actually had to <em>work</em> to get where we are now. Some of us <em>lost</em> stuff, Skyler especially. But you don't know anything about that, do you? You paid your way in, didn't you? You may have been on a high horse back in Atlas, but here? If nothing changes soon, I'm going to personally make sure that you choke on a pie of humility."</p>
<p>"What did you just call me?! You little nothing!! How dare you!! You know nothing about what I've been through!! I've had to-"</p>
<p>"What <em>you've</em> been through?!" Dante actually laughed, this argument beginning to show that it was no longer worthy of being taking seriously, "Did you not hear me? Some of us lost so much on our way here. I don't claim to know what hardships you claim to have had, but if you can name something worse than immediate family members being murdered right in front of your eyes, I'll wait. I'm a patient guy. Now go ahead; show me what you've got."</p>
<p>And with that, Weiss was out of retorts, but though she was startled by the 'murdered family members' bit, she was still seething angry, at which Dante capitalized upon after a good ten seconds of silence, "And there we have it. Just remember: you brought this upon yourself. I suggest running along before you start to embarrass yourself. Because this is no longer an argument; it's a joke. And you're the punchline."</p>
<p>And with that, Weiss' eye began to twitch erratically before she let out a frustrated scream and stormed off. Dante straightened back up with crossed arms and a smirk of victory. Ruby then walked up to him, with a look of nervousness back on her face.</p>
<p>"Thanks for that..." she said, "But you didn't have to..."</p>
<p>"Maybe not," Dante shrugged, "But I did. Like I said, even with Diana in the picture, you're still the first little sister I've had."</p>
<p>Ruby smiled at that, but then frowned, "But... do you think she had a point? I mean... did Ozpin really make a mistake?"</p>
<p>Before Dante could retort, a voice laughed softly behind them, "That remains to be seen."</p>
<p>The two turned to see Headmaster Ozpin himself walking up to them, looking as he always had so far; with a coffee mug in one hand and a cane in the other. Now Dante was beginning to wonder if whatever the heck Ozpin drank out of that mug was actually coffee, because as far as he's seen, that mug has never left his hand, and the headmaster was constantly drinking from it. A source of unlimited power, perhaps? Dante shook away these inner thoughts, knowing that he should take whatever Ozpin says next seriously.</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" Ruby asked</p>
<p>"I mean, it's only been one day," Ozpin explained before suddenly gaining a somber look, "Ruby, Dante... I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet."</p>
<p>"Come on," Dante said with a joking grin, "You're not that old yet, Professor."</p>
<p>Then Dante was quiet again when Ozpin did not reply, or even give him a reassuring smile. He just kept that somber look on his face. At this point, Dante had to raise an eyebrow. Who exactly <em>was</em> Professor Ozpin? But then, Ozpin turned his attention back to Ruby.</p>
<p>"But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them," the headmaster then leaned in so he can look more directly at the girl, "Do you?"</p>
<p>Ruby pondered that for a moment before Ozpin continued, "Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you're not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?"</p>
<p>At that, Ruby smiled at the advice, and Ozpin turned to leave, saying, "You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility, Ruby. I advise you take some time, to think about how you will uphold it. And Mr. Williams?"</p>
<p>Dante looked at the headmaster, who said, "While it is admirable to stand up for yourself and those you consider close, please refrain from comparing other's burdens to one another. Many people suffer in their own ways. And while the world may place a ranking on how horrible one is compared to another, suffering is still suffering. So while what Mr. Yin has gone through is deeply terrible, please do not try to use it as ammo for an argument. Can you promise me that?"</p>
<p>Dante flinched, but nodded, "I understand, sir. I'll try my best."</p>
<p>"I would expect nothing less," Ozpin smiled, "I <em>did</em> accept you into this school, didn't I? Don't let others drag you down because they think otherwise."</p>
<p>At that, Dante couldn't help but give a grateful smile, "Thank you, sir. I'll certainly try."</p>
<p>And with that, Ozpin left the two alone to ponder his advice. Yet for Dante, that lingering feeling of uneasiness towards Headmaster Ozpin was still there. Just who <em>was</em> he?</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Took you long enough," Skyler said to Dante as his teammate walked into the dorm room, "What took you so long?"</p>
<p>"Was Weiss more than you could handle?" Hazel asked cheekily.</p>
<p>"Please," Dante waved off as he shut the door, "Though she did catch me off guard once, I have a feeling I struck a rather large cord in her. I don't think we'll be hearing from her, at least for now. Also had a little chat with the headmaster alongside Ruby."</p>
<p>"Really?" Walker asked, intrigued, "What was that like?"</p>
<p>"Mysteriously encouraging. Man, those are two words I never thought I'd put together... But anyway, he pretty much told us not to doubt ourselves, and some other kind of cryptic stuff. Beginning to think he's some sort of fictional Eldritch god taken mortal form."</p>
<p>Hazel laughed at that, giving Dante a feeling of pride that he did not expect, "And what, his coffee mug is the source of his power?"</p>
<p>"YES," Dante pointed at her with an insanely large grin, "If I had any doubts about you, they are gone now. These next four years are gonna be fun!!"</p>
<p>Hazel blushed a bit, but laughed at Dante's craziness. She couldn't help but agree. Skyler and Walker watched the scene between them unfold, with Hazel laughing while Dante was just being... well, Dante, and the two smiled. Despite the strange assortment of classes and teammates, they had to agree as well. For Skyler, Yang's logic was starting to make sense.</p>
<p>A tomorrow where none of them knew what the future may bring sounded like a heap of fun to him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks to a hater from another book I made on Wattpad for helping me come up with the "and you're the punchline" quip said by Dante. I have yet to know how I came up with that line as a response to that hater, but I did, and it was glorious. Hope you enjoyed! Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 6: Jaunedice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It's been about two weeks now, and everyone has now started to adapt to the new everyday schedule. And Walker was beginning to hate it.</p>
<p>Okay, maybe 'hate' was a strong word. But doing the same routine every day for five days out of the week was beginning to take its toll on on his mindset. At least back at Signal, he had different classmates for each class that gave the illusion of a different environment, for better or for worse. There was some diversity in his schedule. But at Beacon? Same classes, same classmates, etcetera. He was used to excelling in his classes and enjoying it, but at Beacon, it was starting to become very old, very quickly.</p>
<p>However, there was one class that provided a bit of diversity, and that of which was Professor Goodwitch's Combat class. When it wasn't a lecture, it was multiple sparring matches, at which Walker was extremely interested in. He knew about the Vytal Festival Tournament that his team was going to try out for, and he was gathering as much knowledge about his classmates as he could. He even saw his team leader studying the fights almost as much as he was, which was to be expected. It was when Walker had discovered this that he became convinced that Skyler was the right leader for him.</p>
<p>Professor Goodwitch had, on average, about three sparring matches per class period, depending on how long a match took. The matches, she had informed them, would be following the same rules as the Vytal Festival Tournament, only exempting the 'out of bounds' rule for the sparring, as there was no out of bounds in the gym. Other than that, your Aura going into the red zone or just going completely out meant you lost. Obviously, it was going to take a while to get through each person individually, as there was a total of five teams that attended the classes (SHDW, RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, and ATUM), so twenty students was a bit to work with for a class like this.</p>
<p>But Professor Goodwitch made it work, much to Walker's enjoyment. Not only that, but she had said they would be doing battle royales and 1 vs multiple later on in the year, which only got him more excited. Walker's first sparring match was on the fourth day of school, where he actually went up against Pyrrha... Let's just say he tried.</p>
<p>Currently, Jaune had just finished having his butt handed to him by Cardin Winchester, a bigger student whose reputation quickly took a nosedive once his behavior towards those he and his team, CRDL (Cardinal), deemed below them became apparent. Though Cardin mostly left most of them alone (he tried to bully Dante, but it soon became clear that he was not gonna get anywhere with him), he singled out Jaune as the weakling of the group, at which he... was kind of right. Walker liked Jaune fine, but he knew incompetence when he saw it.</p>
<p>And as for up next, Glynda hit randomize on her Scroll before announcing the two pictures that popped up, "Yang Xioa Long vs. Skyler Yin!"</p>
<p>Oh... that was going to be interesting. Walker saw his leader's eyes go wide as he then looked at his team in fear. At first, Walker was convinced that it was Skyler's not-so-hidden infatuation for his blonde childhood friend, but then Dante put his hand on Skyler's shoulder.</p>
<p>"I'm so sorry for you," he said.</p>
<p>Skyler just nodded grimly before turning to the entrance of the gym floor. Walker then looked and saw Yang doing the same, only with a smirk of confidence. Once the two got into fighting stances, Ember Celica and Kasai both respectively at the ready, Walker turned to his partner, confused.</p>
<p>"What was that about?" he asked, "You made it sound like Skyler is going to have to be carried out of here in a bodybag."</p>
<p>"Not necessarily," Dante waved off, "He just understands the brutal thrashing he's about to receive."</p>
<p>"But... doesn't Yang fight with her fists?" Hazel put in, "Since Skyler fights with a sword, shouldn't he have the advantage?"</p>
<p>"Yes... and no. It's a bit complicated."</p>
<p>"What, is he gonna hold back because of his feelings?" Walker questioned.</p>
<p>Dante smirked at that, but answered, "Oh no, far from it. Yang would take it as an insult if that were the case, platonic feelings or not. She practically <em>lives</em> for fighting, so for Skyler to hold back? That's not gonna fly, and Skyler knows it."</p>
<p>"Then what is it?"</p>
<p>"While he won't be holding back, there is one part of her body that he's gonna try his hardest not to cut."</p>
<p>Walker then saw metaphorical puzzle pieces started to click together in Hazel's head as she said, "Wait... Oh! <em>Oh</em>..."</p>
<p>Walker leaned in, "Care to enlighten me?"</p>
<p>But before either teammate could answer, Professor Goodwitch called out, "You may begin!"</p>
<p>The two combatants rushed at each other, Skyler swinging his sword along the way. Yang countered with a backhand, the top of her gauntlet blocking Skyler's strike, the collision creating a loud metallic sound that rang out across the battlefield. The two were locked in that stalemate for a bit, but just by looking, Walker could tell that this was a regular occurrence. These were two warriors who have probably sparred like this dozens of times throughout their life, so this situation had probably happened numerous times. This was merely the prelude, and the two had apparently made a tradition out of it.</p>
<p>The two leaped back, only to charge at each other again, Skyler slashing, but with Yang parrying every strike away with her gauntlets, that strategy wasn't going anywhere. And while Skyler had a determined look on his face, Yang was grinning wildly. Not a good sign, at least to Walker. The two fighters then both swung heavy blows, and a small shockwave cascaded across the battlefield just from the power behind the impact of the gauntlet and the sword.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Skyler also stumbled at it, giving Yang an opening. She quickly got in close and nailed her friend in the stomach, a shot blasting off from her gauntlet, and then swiftly followed up with a few more quick blows to the torso, and finished it up by slugging Skyler in the face. Walker's leader was sent flying, his Aura now in the yellow zone in terms of limit, but he managed to land on his feet and dash towards Yang again. But this time, he changed Kasai back into its gun form as he did, confusing Walker. If it was in gun form, why did Skyler persist to engage in close quarters combat?</p>
<p>That question was answered when Kasai was swung and it collided with Ember Celica, as if it was a bladed gauntlet. And while Skyler was only using one hand, he actually kept Yang in her toes, much to Walker's surprise. Skyler then landed a strong strike, temporarily knocking Yang off balance. He took a small step back and thrust forward with Kasai. Unfortunately, he had taken just a half second too long, and she caught his weapon in between the palms of her hands, though shakily. And at that, Skyler just smirked and reached one finger to the trigger of his gun.</p>
<p>Yang quickly realized what was about to happen, and let go and jumped back just as flames burst out of Kasai's nozzle. She barely managed to get out of range of the fire before her gauntlets pumped. She then began to fire a few long range rounds at him, causing him to sidestep to avoid them. When they stopped, he looked up to see Yang blasting her way towards him, so Skyler reset Kasai back into a sword and swiftly swung it as hard as he could to counter the oncoming attack. Another shockwave occurred when the dust collided with the blade, even stronger than the previous one.</p>
<p>Yang went flying back, her Aura now blipping just into the yellow zone, and she landed on her feet after flipping up on her hand. Skyler slammed into the wall behind him, but was relatively unharmed by it, though his Aura amount was noticeably smaller than Yang's. He was breathing heavily, the full weight of the battle starting to dawn on him. If Walker was closer, he was certain that he would've seen Skyler's expression and how the gears in his leader's head were going into overtime... only to to then halt as absolute terror gripped him.</p>
<p>Walker switched his attention to Yang, who was staring at the ground. He was confused at the sight until he spotted a small strand of blonde hair on the ground at the girl's feet. At first, Walker only got more confused, but then Dante nudged him on the arm.</p>
<p>"<em>That's</em> what Skyler was trying to avoid," he explained to his partner, "Nobody, but <em>nobody</em>, messes with the hair."</p>
<p>As if on cue, flames burst to life all around Yang, her hair shooting up as she let out a scream of rage. And with that, she shot towards Skyler like a rocket, and while he managed to barely dodge her first strike with her left fist by tilting his head, Yang's next shot came from her right and nailed him right in the cheek, and he was sent spiraling through the air. He landed flat on his back, but was still able to get back up, though it was apparent to Walker that this fight was already over. Yang shot towards him again, her childhood friend covering his face with his arms, but that proved fatal.</p>
<p>Yang's punch hit Skyler square in the gut, breaking his Aura and sending him straight into the back wall and flat on his face to the ground. The flames around Yang died down as Glynda's Scroll beeped.</p>
<p>"Mr. Yin is out of Aura," the teacher announced, "Ms. Xiao Long claims the victory."</p>
<p>"Yeah, go Yang!!" Ruby cheered, a bit to the detriment of Weiss, but the Schnee quickly shook it off.</p>
<p>Yang grinned at her sister before making her way to Skyler, who was still flat on his face, "You okay there, buddy?"</p>
<p>"Hello, Yang..." Skyler mumbled somewhat deliriously, "Have we done our homework? 'Cause if we haven't, Uncle Qrow's gonna KICK our butts!!"</p>
<p>Yang just rolled her eyes with a grin before picking her friend up by the back of his shirt, "Come on, Sky, the day's not over yet."</p>
<p>Skyler just groaned at that, managing to wobble to his feet, with a little help from Yang. Walker knew it was <em>not</em> fun when Aura runs out completely. His leader was definitely gonna be sore for the rest of the day. But as he watched the two previous combatants walk out of the arena, Yang providing Skyler a shoulder to lean on, Walker couldn't help but give a smile. Those two were good for each other, platonic or not.</p>
<p>But still most certainly not.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The next morning at breakfast, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SHDW took their place at their shared table, with Team ATUM, surprisingly, taking an interest in the group and sitting in the table next to theirs, right behind SHDW. At this particular moment, Nora was telling a crazy story, with some people at the table not particularly caring (Walker, Weiss, Blake, and Jaune, surprisingly), others just listening in because it was entertaining to hear the ramblings of a lunatic (Skyler, Hazel, and Pyrrha), and the rest hanging onto every word as if it were a sermon (Ruby, Yang, and Dante).</p>
<p>"So!! There we were, in the middle of the night..."</p>
<p>"It was day," Ren corrected, taking a sip of coffee.</p>
<p>"We were surrounded by Ursai..."</p>
<p>"They were Beowolves."</p>
<p>"DOZENS OF THEM!!!"</p>
<p>"Two of them," Ren sighed at the outburst.</p>
<p>"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"</p>
<p>Ren sighed again, "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."</p>
<p>But meanwhile, Pyrrha had lost interest, looking at her leader with concern, "Jaune, are you okay?"</p>
<p>Jaune snapped out of a trance, turning towards them, "Huh? Oh, yeah! Why?"</p>
<p>"It's just that you seem a little..." Ruby struggled to find the right words, "<em>Not</em> okay..."</p>
<p>By this point, everyone's attention was on Jaune, who tried to reassure them with a nervous thumbs up, "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!"</p>
<p>Jaune gave an awkward laugh, until all of their attention soon focused on a scene nearby when they heard a girl cry out. They all then saw Team CRDL standing around a Faunus with brown rabbit ears jutting from her hair, a girl named Velvet Scarlatina, as Cardin laughed at her and Sky Lark holding up his hands to his head in a mock interpretation of those ears. Walker glared at the sight. Sad thing was, he knew that this wasn't even a particularly special or even secluded occurrence. Despite Vale's equal rights, Faunus were still being bullied and discriminated against all the time.</p>
<p>"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school," Hazel informed JNPR's leader, anxious not to pay attention to what was also going on.</p>
<p>"Who? Cardin Winchester?" Jaune shrugged off, "Nah... He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!"</p>
<p>Everyone gave him a look as Dante replied, "He's a bully. There's literally no other word to describe him, other than maybe 'scum of the planet'. Name still pending."</p>
<p>Jaune scoffed, "Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me."</p>
<p>Dante then immediately pulled out his Scroll and showed him video clips as examples, including, but not limited to, Cardin knocking Jaune's books out of his hands, Cardin getting Jaune stuck in a door, and last but not least, Cardin stuffing Jaune into a rocket locker and blasting him off school property. And Jaune attempted to laugh it off again, somehow being even <em>less</em> convincing.</p>
<p>"I didn't land far from the school!"</p>
<p>Pyrrha put a hand on his arm, "Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask."</p>
<p>"Ooh!! I know!" Nora stood up with an insane grin on her face as she proclaimed proudly, "We'll break his legs!!!"</p>
<p>"Amen, sister!!" a muffled voice behind them said.</p>
<p>Everyone looked at the table next to them as ATUM's leader, Auriel, swallowed down her slice of bacon and said, "The dude has it coming to him! He tried to mock Tatiana here once. Didn't get too far before we showed him what for!"</p>
<p>"Auriel, don't group everyone else in with you like that," her aforementioned partner, Tatiana, shyly responded, "And all you did was literally pour the contents of a trash bin on him."</p>
<p>"Exactly!" Auriel grinned, "Because trash belongs with trash!"</p>
<p>"Agreed," her other teammate, Uriel, added plainly, "I would've gladly done the same. Right, Meta?"</p>
<p>The last teammate, Meta, just grunted with a nod.</p>
<p>"Guys, really, it's fine!" Jaune insisted as he got up to throw away his own trash, "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone."</p>
<p>As if to prove his point, as he was walking away, Velvet cried out again, "Ow!! Stop it! That hurts!"</p>
<p>They all looked over again as the laughing from CRDL grew louder, mixed in with cries of pain from Velvet as one of her ears was being tugged on by Cardin. Walker wasn't sure how much longer was gonna be able to sit by and not do anything.</p>
<p>"I told you it was real!" Cardin exclaimed, tugging on Velvet's ear harder.</p>
<p>"What a freak!" one of his teammates, who Walker didn't really bother learning the name of, said.</p>
<p>At that point, Walker had had enough. As soon as he saw Cardin's grip on Velvet's ear loosen, he stretched out his hand. Wind then circulated around one of the bully's feet, causing Cardin to slip and fall backwards onto his head. And while his team rushed to check up on him, Velvet caught Walker's eye, and he tilted his head, telling her to get out of there while she could. She smiled shyly and nodded in thanks before taking off.</p>
<p>"Atrocious," Pyrrha scowled as Cardin was being helped up, "I can't stand people like him."</p>
<p>"He's not the only one..." Blake said, also staring daggers at Cardin and his team.</p>
<p>Yang sighed sadly, leaning her head on her hand, "It must be hard to be a Faunus."</p>
<p>Walker made a mental note to wail on Cardin or any of his teammates in Combat class next time he got the chance. And judging by the looks his teammates were giving, they were most likely thinking the same.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry to cut the chapter a bit short, at least in terms of the part two of the actual episode. But I think all of this got the message across that Cardin and his team are complete jerks. Otherwise, this was a pretty fun chapter to write, especially the stuff with H20FLAME's Team ATUM. They were surprisingly very fun to write, and I can't wait until I get to write them more later.</p>
<p>I debated on combining this chapter and Forever Fall, but then I made this chapter incredibly long, so I ultimately decided against it. Just don't expect too much for next chapter. Might include a fight scene. Not sure yet. Still haven't even worked on it. RWBY Volume 1 just has a lot of unnecessary fluff that doesn't relate to our teams in any way. But anyway, I suppose that's all to discuss. Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 7: Forever Fall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The day after, Walker couldn't help but notice that something was... off. Well, at least with Team JNPR, more specifically, Jaune. The team leader had grown much quieter, and his life was reaching Blake-levels of antisocial. Not that it was any of Walker's business, but it was very off putting to see the normally at least happy guy turn into... well, whatever he was now. The one thing he did notice, however, was Jaune always taking nervous glances at Team CRDL. Something bigger than him was going on, but Walker was not in any position or even mood to find out.</p><p>For now, it was Combat Class. And his name had been called, along with Tatiana Epona, the shy Team ATUM girl. Walker wasn't sure what to expect from this particular matchup as they walked into the arena, but he decided to keep his guard up. He knew next to nothing about Tatiana, aside from her timid personality. He didn't know what weapon or Semblance she possessed, so to say he was going into this blind would be an understatement.</p><p>The two Hunters in training stood at either end of the field, preparing for the upcoming fight. Tatiana, now out of her school uniform, was wearing pink... well, everything. It was a bit distracting to be honest, but the black neck ribbon she was also wearing, though a bit hidden behind her brown hair, kind of stood out like a sore thumb. Almost like she was overcompensating with pink to try and drown out the black. Her shy demeanor was gone, now replaced with a look of steely determination. In one of her hands was what appeared to be a handheld fan; folded in, but at the ready.</p><p>Walker gripped Barentain tighter right before Professor Goodwitch called out, "You may begin!"</p><p>Almost as fast as he could blink, Tatiana drew her closed fan up to reveal a gun barrel through the handle and began to rapidly fire at Walker as he charged. Though a bit taken aback, he quickly swung his sword to deflect the bullets away from him. Once he got close enough, Tatiana's weapon unfolded to reveal the rest of the fan, but with an apparent bladed edge. They both swung their weapons, but they merely grazed each other. It wasn't until a few seconds later that Walker realized that Tatiana's fan wasn't exactly designed for a head on clash with a sword like his. He continued swinging Barentain, but each swing only grazed off of the fan's edge, deflecting it away from its wielder, Tatiana moving with surprising speed and grace.</p><p>This clearly wasn't working. Walker needed a new strategy, he needed a longer range. So he jumped back, propelled by his Semblance, and pressed a button on Barentain's handle, elongating the blade into its whip mode. He immediately swung horizontally, causing Tatiana's eyes to bug out before leaning back, barely dodging the bladed whip that went flying over her head. She tried to get in close once she recovered, but Walker began to swing Barentain erratically, creating a sort of dome around him. Tatiana folded in her fan and tried to shoot him, but only encountered the same problem. And it was then that she lowered her weapon to stare at him with her brown eyes and into his own.</p><p>Walker wondered what was going on, but mere seconds later, the world flipped. Or at least, his physical view of it. Suddenly, it was as if he and Tatiana were standing upside down on the ceiling, and their weapons were in different hands than they were before. He stumbled, blinking hard, trying to snap himself out of this disorientation, but this only left himself wide open. His opponent let out a small smile before opening her fan again and charging him. He swung out with what he thought was his sword arm, only to stumble again at the realization that though he thought that his sword was in his left hand now, his seeming right hand moved when he willed his left hand to do so.</p><p>And those few seconds cost him dearly. Tatiana was upon him before he could even react. She slashed across his torso multiple times before kicking him to the ground. Now flat on his back, Walker was now even <em>more</em> disoriented, but at least he had a good idea on what was happening. Whatever Tatiana's Semblance was allowed her to cause him to have a weird mirror perspective on everything. Up was down, left was right. As he got up, Walker realized that the only way he could truly fight back was if he closed his eyes, but there was no way he was going to try and fight blind. He growled as he realized his Aura level had passed into the orange zone. He couldn't take another couple of hits like that again.</p><p>But as Tatiana charged at him again, Walker was hit with an idea. He would indeed close his eyes and let his instincts take the reigns, but not rely on them. He closed his eyes and did the same dome move from earlier, swinging Barentain erratically. It definitely felt a lot easier without the distorted vision. He heard a few clanks and could only hope and assume that it was Tatiana trying and failing to get through his defense. That was fine. He could do this all day.</p><p>It was then that he heard a quiet cry out in pain, but no clank that came before it, or even a sound of contact. So he dared to open his eyes, and, much to his relief, saw that his vision was back to normal and Tatiana was clutching her head in pain. Apparently, her Semblance took a toll on her body if she used it for too long. Taking advantage of the opening, Walker charged and swung his sword hard. Tatiana tried to block, but her fan took a head on collision with his sword, and was knocked out of her hand. Walker then knocked her to the ground and held her at sword-point.</p><p>They were both breathing hard, but Tatiana was the one who held up her hands and said quietly, "I accept defeat."</p><p>Walker smiled slightly as he heard his team whoop in delight at his victory. He looked over to see his cheering friends and the bitter looks from Team ATUM, but they were still good sports and were clapping, if only out of obligation. Walker then sheathed his sword and offered Tatiana a hand up, and when she accepted, got up, and walked away, Walker realized something. He had mentally called his teammates 'friends'. He knew it was like that with his partner, but until he saw his other teammates congratulating him, he had thought he just merely respected them.</p><p>Walker smiled wider. Yeah... Being friends with these guys sounded really good.</p><hr/><p>"Yes, students," Ms. Goodwitch announced the next day, as they walked through a red-leafed forest, "The forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."</p><p>Walker trudged alongside his team, listening to the instructions given, as well as keep a still half-asleep Dante from tripping on a tree root and falling on his face again. Glynda stopped and turned to them all, holding a jar in one hand.</p><p>"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4:00. Have fun!"</p><p>Walker didn't like how she phrased those last two words. Ms. Goodwitch may have been his favorite teacher, but that didn't mean she liked everyone. He then noticed Jaune trying to sneak away to his own team, only to get pulled back by Cardin.</p><p>"Come on, buddy," the bully said, "Let's go!"</p><p>Jaune just whimpered as he went along with CRDL, his own team giving him looks of disappointment. Walker's curiosity tried to get the better of him, but he forced it down. Not his team, not his business. He was prepared to drop the entire subject from his mind, but his partner proved that ineffectual.</p><p>"What do you think <em>that</em> was all about?" Dante asked him.</p><p>Walker just sighed as he stuck a device into a nearby tree to suck out the sap into his jar, "Don't know, don't care. Not exactly our business."</p><p>"'Not our business'?" Dante replied incredulously, "They're our friends, remember? I think it counts as our business."</p><p>"Dante, it's taken me this long to open up to the prospect of being friends with my own team. Not to mention that this is <em>Jaune</em> we're talking about. You're gonna have to be a little more convincing than that."</p><p>His partner just shrugged, "Fine, fine. But don't come running to me when your curiosity gets the better of you."</p><p>Walker turned to him in shock, "How did you-"</p><p>Dante smirked, "I didn't. Thanks for telling me!"</p><p>And with that, he walked away to find a tree, leaving Walker so frozen in shock that his jar began to overflow. He was outsmarted... by <em>Dante</em>?!</p><hr/><p>The rest of the time went by fairly averagely. Well, at least as average as you can get with this particular set of people. Ren kept having refill his and Nora's jars because she kept drinking all the sap, Auriel thought it would be funny to glue herself to a tree with the sap, and whatever the heck Dante was doing (don't ask). But at least it was quiet. Until...</p><p>"THAT'S A BIG URSA!!!"</p><p>Walker groaned. One day. Nay, just <em>five minutes</em> of peace. Was that too much to ask for? It must've been, considering. He turned his head to see Team CRDL, excluding Cardin, running back to the rest of the class in a fit of panic. Yang grabbed one of them, Russel, by the collar and shook him.</p><p>"Where?" she demanded.</p><p>"Back there!" Russel pointed, "It's got Cardin!"</p><p>Pyrrha dropped her jar out of fear, "Jaune!"</p><p>"Well, that makes two idiots we've got to save..." Hazel growled in annoyance.</p><p>Ruby instantly went into leader mode, "Yang! You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!"</p><p>Pyrrha said the same to Ren and Nora, while the rest either went with them (Skyler, Dante, Meta, and Tatiana), kept running (CRDL) or with Ruby and Pyrrha (Walker, Hazel, Uriel, and Weiss). As for Auriel...</p><p>"Uh... guys? Hellooooo!! Some help please?!"</p><hr/><p>Once the randomized group of Hunters in training finally arrived to where Jaune and Cardin were, the latter was getting swatted away by the paw of an Ursa Major. But just as the Grimm was about to finish him off, Jaune jumped in to block the strike with his shield. The evolved Ursa pounced back only to roar and charge again, directed at its new target. Jaune did the same and swung his sword, but it was clear to Walker that the strike would be just too low.</p><p>But then Pyrrha suddenly lifted her hand towards Jaune, and his figure shifted slightly, just enough to fix his swing to completely decapitate the Ursa Major. The Grimm's headless body fell to the ground before dissipating into thin air.</p><p>"Uh... what?" Ruby said, confused.</p><p>Weiss was equally amazed, "How did you..."</p><p>Pyrrha just gave a shy smile, "Well, you should know what a Semblance is, correct? Well, mine is polarity."</p><p>Walker groaned, "Oh, that explains so much..."</p><p>He remembered his own fight with the champion a few weeks back. Walker remembered that the only thing that seemed to have a effect on her was his Semblance, but since there were no boundaries in those matches, that did him little good. And whatever he had done with Barentain had just only barely seemed to miss Pyrrha. At first, he thought she was just that agile, but this seemed like a much simpler explanation.</p><p>"You control... poles?" Ruby asked, still confused.</p><p>"No, it's a fancy word for magnetism," Uriel explained to her, "She can basically control anything that can be magnetized however she wants."</p><p>"Magnets are cool too..." Ruby said, still in awe.</p><p>Weiss just rolled her eyes at her leader, "Dunce."</p><p>"Yeah, look who's talking..." Hazel muttered.</p><p>"What was that?!" Weiss snapped back at her.</p><p>"Oh, nothing, Ice Queen," Hazel replied with a sarcastic grin.</p><p>Walker sighed. He had hoped that Hazel would one day tell them where her beef with the Schnee heiress came from, but so far, that hasn't been the case. As the two girls continued to bicker, the rest noticed Pyrrha walking away.</p><p>"Wait, where are you going?" Uriel questioned.</p><p>"Yeah!" Ruby added, "We gotta tell them what happened!"</p><p>"We could..." Pyrrha responded, looking in Jaune's direction, "Or perhaps we could keep it our little secret?"</p><hr/><p>"So what do you think that was about?" Hazel asked Walker as they made their way to the rest of the class.</p><p>Walker shrugged, "Dunno. I stopped trying to understand girls a long time ago."</p><p>Hazel gave a nod, "Fair enough. Doesn't stop you from being curious though, right?"</p><p>Walker was silent for a moment, in thought. He then glanced back to a brilliantly smiling Pyrrha as she walked next to Jaune, who was rambling out an apology, as well as a awkward Cardin, who hung back behind the group, feeling isolated. But Walker mainly looked at the former two and gave a small grin.</p><p>"No... no, I suppose not."</p><hr/><p>As everyone was returning to class, Meta looked around a bit before asking his team, "Hey... I feel like we're forgetting something..."</p><p>Uriel blinked before going into deep thought, "Now that you mention it, yeah... Tatiana, did we forget something?"</p><p>Tatiana then froze in her tracks, "Oh crap, Auriel!!"</p><hr/><p>Auriel, still stuck to the tree, was just looking around in acceptance, "So this is my life now, huh? Welp. This'll be fun."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Like most of this following the canon of Volume 1 section, not too much originality here, but I hope the fight and Team ATUM stuff made up for it. Hope you enjoyed! Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 8: The Stray</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hazel never considered herself the fangirl-sort, but she just couldn't help but get excited when the Vytal Festival was beginning to get prepared in town. She may have come from Mistral, a place where festivities were very commonplace, but this was a chance to see how a foreign kingdom did things, and it was shaping up to be exciting! Back in Mistral, where all of the celebrations she'd witnessed were formal, this Vytal Festival was casual, which was a big relief to Hazel. She'd rather not have to wear that uncomfortable school uniform anywhere else.</p>
<p>She walked beside Dante and in front of the rest of her team, looking around wildly so much that one might think she was watching a sped up tennis match, as well as occasionally spinning around to get a full view of the area. It was honestly kind of adorable.</p>
<p>"Hazel, I know this is a new experience for you," Skyler stated, though his annoyance came off more as amusement, "But is this <em>really</em> that big of a deal?"</p>
<p>"Are you kidding?" Hazel said as she turned around to walk backwards and talk to her partner, "This is my first time being involved in one of the Vytal Festivals! I'm soaking in all of this as much as I can!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, but aren't you from Mistral?" Dante interjected, "You know, the place that practically <em>invented</em> festivals?"</p>
<p>"Well yeah, but me and my mom never could attend. They were always formal, and we weren't exactly rolling in nice clothes. And that includes the Vytal Festival when it's held in Mistral, which is annoying and, might I say, very exclusive to people like us."</p>
<p>Walker shrugged, "Fair enough. Let's just let her have this, guys. Might as well have her soak it all in now and not sequentially over the next few years."</p>
<p>Hazel grinned at him, "See? Someone gets it."</p>
<p>And with that, she spun back around to keep glancing everywhere, only to accidentally slam into someone who had mirrored her movement.</p>
<p>"Hey, watch where you're going!" Hazel and the person scolded in unison before they both blinked, "Oh, it's you."</p>
<p>Dante helped her up at the same time Uriel helped up Auriel. Apparently, Team ATUM's leader had much too swiftly turned away from a nearby concession stand, simultaneously trying to further extort her teammates for money. Hazel would've called it karma, had that not been Auriel's usual behavior over the past few weeks. The proper word for her was 'cheapskate'.</p>
<p>"So, what're you guys doing out here?" Meta asked them.</p>
<p>"Same as you, I'm guessing," Walker replied, "Though mostly just to satisfy Hazel's curiosity. She's never been to the Vytal Festival before."</p>
<p>"Really?" Tatiana said in her regular timid voice, "Even I've been to at least two, despite... uh, never mind..."</p>
<p>Hazel raised an eyebrow at the remark, but decided not to press on what seemed to be a personal issue, "Yeah. My mom and I aren't exactly rolling in cash."</p>
<p>"Well, I say you're gonna have an awesome time!" Auriel exclaimed excitedly, "The epic fights in the tournament, the delicious food, different cultures, friends with money to mooch off of-"</p>
<p>"Which isn't the point," Uriel interjected sharply, slightly glaring at his leader.</p>
<p>"Which isn't the point..." Auriel repeated, though not nearly as enthusiastically, "Well, the point is, it's awesome! But I guess this'll be all our first times actually participating in one as Hunters in training! Oh, this is gonna be so cool!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know, right?" Dante smiled widely, as equally excited as she was, "Fighting other teams in the tournament is gonna be so much fun!"</p>
<p>Then he began to frown, "Oh gods... Am I turning into Yang?!"</p>
<p>While Dante appeared to have a psychological breakdown, Hazel couldn't help but giggle at his antics. Her leader/partner's best friend always seemed to find a way to do that, intentionally or not. What had surprised Hazel about Dante was just how... well, <em>normal</em> he was. Skyler apparently had some horrible tragedy happen to him that he still refused to talk about, Walker, from what she could gather, had a very rocky relationship with his family, and Hazel's own family consisted of herself, her mom, and a father who had walked out on them, taking whatever money they had left.</p>
<p>But Dante was different. He had both a loving father and mother, as well as a five year old little sister named Diana, who the boy would not stop gushing over when given the chance. While Hazel did feel kind of jealous of his carefree lifestyle at first, her heart couldn't help but be warmed when she heard him talking to Diana on his Scroll the first official day at Beacon and telling her about his 'awesome new team'. He was a light that she didn't know she needed in her life.</p>
<p>She felt her face heat up and she patted her own cheeks in futile resistance. No. She would not be thinking thoughts like that now. She was supposed to be training to be a Huntress, not figuring out who was boyfriend material!</p>
<p>Luckily, Uriel's voice broke her thought process, "Hey, do you guys know what's up with Team RWBY?"</p>
<p>Hazel and the rest of her team grew confused, prompting Skyler to ask, "What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"W-Well," Tatiana spoke up, "We saw them just a few minutes ago, and Weiss and Blake were arguing pretty passionately..."</p>
<p>"It sounded like they were debating racial issues," Meta chimed in, "Considering who Weiss is, I figured that kind of argument was bound to happen sooner or later."</p>
<p>"So naturally, we noped out of there," Auriel concluded, "No such thing as a clean political argument, right?"</p>
<p>"That's... concerning," Dante grimaced, remembering his fight with Weiss on the first day of school, "Knowing Ice Queen, she's not gonna let that go easily."</p>
<p>"I'll say," Hazel snorted, "Her ego's bigger than Beacon itself."</p>
<p>The female SHDW member had made her thoughts on the Schnee heiress crystal clear, but not her motivations on them. She knew that she owed her team an explanation for it. There wasn't really any reason to keep it secret either. It was just that nobody had really asked, and Hazel was only given confused looks that hinted that her team at least was curious. But it was safe to say that she was not fond of Weiss in the slightest.</p>
<p>Now that she thought about it, that was probably why Hazel started crushing hard on Dante: he had told her off in the most spectacular way she could have thought appropriate. But anyway, Hazel knew it was only a matter of time before Weiss figured out why the Mistralian hated her so much, and a different amount of time before the two get randomly paired up in Goodwitch's class. And Hazel vowed that she would give Weiss the necessary thrashing.</p>
<p>When someone's family steamrolls your home, leaving your already struggling family of two destitute, you tend to hold a rather large grudge.</p>
<hr/>
<p>It was nighttime when SHDW finally got back to their dorms, just before curfew. ATUM has said their goodbyes just an hour or so earlier and returned to their own room, likely so Auriel could try out this new video game she had convinced Tatiana to buy for her. Ever the cheapskate.</p>
<p>But it was on SHDW's way back to their own room where they passed RWBY's open door, and life just got a whole lot more complicated.</p>
<p>"You want to know why I despise the White Fang?" they heard Weiss argue, "It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"</p>
<p>"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!!!"</p>
<p>Utter silence filled the air. Not even a surprised gasp. And just before anyone could process what they just heard, Blake darted out of her room, shoved past SHDW, and sped out of sight. Everyone blinked a few times, Hazel not sure what to say, so she observed her teammates. Dante and Walker had on a similar expression to her own, but Skyler was... different. Yes, there was shock on his face, but more subdued. It looked as if he was calculating something in his head, but was still coming up just barely shy of an answer.</p>
<p>And leave it to Dante to break the tension, "We... We probably shouldn't have heard that, should we?"</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Great!" Weiss exclaimed once SHDW had been given the context to what had just happened, "Just great! We've been teammates with a terrorist!"</p>
<p>"Weiss, we don't know that," Ruby tried, she really did, but Hazel knew this was not diffusing anytime soon.</p>
<p>"Why don't we?" the heiress persisted, "We all heard her! Not only is she a Faunus, but a member of the White Fang on top of it!"</p>
<p>"You say that as if being a Faunus is somehow a terrible life choice," Hazel glared, "Yeah, we heard her. But do you honestly think that Ozpin would let a terrorist into this school?"</p>
<p>"Oh, of course <em>you'd</em> argue against me!" Weiss snarled back, "You've been against me ever since school started! Just what is your problem?!"</p>
<p>At that, Skyler put a hand on Hazel's shoulder to try and calm her down, but she had finally had enough. A guttural growl left her throat before she stood up, her eyes showing pure rage. Weiss at least had the decency to look intimidated.</p>
<p>"Perhaps it's because I can actually empathize!!" Hazel snapped, "I know what it's like to have Schnees ruin your life!! Take away everything you've known!! Separate you from the only friend you've ever had before!! But of course you don't know any of that, <em>Ice Queen</em>. You said before to Dante that we have no idea what you've been through-"</p>
<p>"That's right, you don't!" Weiss interrupted, gaining some confidence, "When you've grown up in a home like I had-"</p>
<p>"<em>Oh, so you had a home</em>."</p>
<p>At that, Weiss flinched as she stared into Hazel rage and tear filled eyes. It was a look that she vaguely recognized, from when she got the rare look from her mother. Of someone who had lost something precious. By that point, Hazel sniffed and stormed out the door. Skyler got to his feet after a moment.</p>
<p>"I'll... go after her," he said, taking charge of the situation, "We'll look for Blake in the morning. Something tells me we all have a lot to think about."</p>
<p>He had said that pointedly at Weiss, who looked away in denial. With that, he left and went after his partner.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Skyler found Hazel in their dorm room, huddled in the corner, hiding her head in her knees. He heard quiet sobs coming from her as he approached, but he hesitated. He wasn't sure if he was the right person to comfort her, despite his position as both her leader <em>and</em> partner. But at the moment, there was no one else better to do so. So he sighed and sat down beside her.</p>
<p>"Well, that was quite the train wreck, wasn't it?" he asked, trying (and failing) to alleviate the mood.</p>
<p>Though the crying seemed to have stopped, Hazel refused to lift her head. Too many memories had come flooding in, and she was too busy trying to push them all back. The Mistralian no longer had the energy to do much right now. Skyler picked up on it and sighed again. This situation was awfully familiar to him. He remembered himself in her position, and Dante in his not too long ago. But this situation was different. Maybe... maybe now was the time to finally open up.</p>
<p>"Hazel..." he started, "I'm not gonna pretend to know what you've gone through. From what I was able to deduce from what you said, I at least know the circumstances you've gone through, but I'm not you."</p>
<p>He then heard a quiet snort and a muffled, "I would certainly hope not..."</p>
<p>Skyler smirked at that, but a frown quickly returned, "We've all gone through stuff. I know you may think Dante's the exception, but honestly? I pity him the most. He may not have any similar experiences to people like us, but he's always been there to pick us back up. I'm surprised he doesn't have back pain by how much he's carried all of us. When Yang's mom left, when Ruby's mom died...</p>
<p>"And when my parents were murdered by the White Fang."</p>
<p><em>That</em> got Hazel to lift her head, her eyes wide with shock, "You... You what?"</p>
<p>Skyler couldn't help but slightly smile at the dumbfounded response, "I figured since you pretty much opened up to all of us in there, why couldn't I open up to you? I mean, seriously, what kind of partner am I, not being able to tell you why I am who I am?"</p>
<p>"You... You didn't have to... Not after-"</p>
<p>"Oh, save it," he waved off, "Been meaning to discuss this with you and Walker for a while now."</p>
<p>Hazel was again quiet, but not for long, "How... How do you deal with it?"</p>
<p>"I don't."</p>
<p>Would the surprises never stop coming? Hazel was dumbfounded. Despite what she could gather previously about his past, her leader was one of the most sane, stable guys she'd ever met. Not even Walker seemed as stable as her partner was. And here he was, telling her that he just... <em>doesn't</em> handle trauma?</p>
<p>"I learned a long time ago that dwelling on the past isn't exactly healthy," Skyler continued, "My cousin actually went through the same thing. He never really was the most stable individual to begin with, but after his parents were killed, something in him just... snapped. Now I don't know where he is. But I guess that did teach me a lesson."</p>
<p>He turned and looked at his partner in the eyes, "My parents wouldn't want me spending the rest of my life grieving for them, or vying for revenge against their killers. So I've decided to live life how I want, and not let the past control. And though I won't deny wanting revenge, it's more like I want closure. I don't even know <em>why</em> they were killed. I at least deserve to know that much..."</p>
<p>There was a moment of comfortable silence before Hazel looked down and spoke up, "...My mom and I used to live in a town up in northern Mistral. Can't even remember the name of it, it was that long ago. Despite poor living conditions, we were happy. I had a best friend who lived there, her name was Pamela. She was the only friend I had growing up. But then some people discovered a hidden Dust mine in the area, and you can take a wild guess on what happened next.</p>
<p>"Next thing I knew, my mom and I were homeless, and our town was renamed Argus. Now it's the largest non-capitol city on the planet. Shame on how it got there."</p>
<p>Hazel looked back up and smiled a bit, "I don't think we'll really be able to understand what each of us has been through, but... I think we'll be alright, don't you think?"</p>
<p>Skyler smiled back, "Yeah. I think we'll be fine."</p>
<p>"Well, I'm glad for that!"</p>
<p>The two jumped to see that their two teammates had just walked into the room, the more boisterous of the two having just spoke.</p>
<p>"How long have you two been standing there?" Skyler asked.</p>
<p>Walker shrugged, "We heard all about Hazel. I suppose that does explain a lot."</p>
<p>"I'm just glad our team didn't end up like Ruby's," Dante added, "Speaking of which, I have an idea on how we can help search for Blake!"</p>
<p>"You?" Hazel chuckled, "<em>You</em> came up with a plan?"</p>
<p>"Hey, don't knock it until you try it!" Dante retorted with a goofy grin, "So here it is..."</p>
<p>After he explained it, the rest of the team just blinked at him. Walker and Hazel turned to their leader with pleading eyes, silently begging him not to accept it. Skyler's response?</p>
<p>"That is a terrible plan... Let's do it."</p>
<hr/>
<p>After explaining the situation to their consultants (not including the Faunus bit), Skyler wrapped up with, "Basically, we need your assistance. Will you help us find Blake?"</p>
<p>"Oh, no!" Auriel said rapidly before the rest of ATUM could even consider anything, "Nuh-uh. No way. You aren't roping us into this mess. This is a 'you problem'."</p>
<p>Skyler then pulled some money out of his wallet, "I'll give you fifty lien."</p>
<p>Auriel immediately swiped the lien and replied, "Time to find a classmate!"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No matter how not-personal a situation is, Auriel shall always be pursuing money. She's like Anna from Fire Emblem. I only wish I could've gotten into Fire Emblem earlier than I did just so I could request that H20FLAME name Auriel "Anna" instead. They literally have the same mannerisms. That in particular made her really easy to write. Because I both love and fear Anna. But in any case, next up ends RWBY Volume 1, and then onto RWBY Volume 2! Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 9: Black and White</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So, if two pregnant women were to brawl, would it be the same as two babies piloting mechs?"</p>
<p>Dante let out a cry of outrage as both Team SHDW and ATUM strolled through the now abandoned streets of the city at night, "Godsdammit, Auriel, why would you make me contemplate that at this particular time?!"</p>
<p>Auriel giggled to herself, "Heh... 'contemplate'."</p>
<p>"Guys!" Skyler exclaimed while facepalming, "How does this in any way pertain to what we're doing?"</p>
<p>"Hey, don't look at me!" Dante rebutted, "Auriel's the one asking the weird questions!"</p>
<p>"All I'm doing is trying to alleviate the boredom," ATUM's leader argued, "It has been literal hours, and I'd rather get back to the dorm before curfew, but nooooo, we gotta search the streets in the dead of night for a classmate who we aren't even friends with!"</p>
<p>"If I recall correctly," Meta said to his leader, "You were the one who said we would help."</p>
<p>"He bribed us!"</p>
<p>"Correction: he bribed <em>you</em>. We just had to go along with it because you're the leader. And besides, you didn't have to take the lien either, it wasn't like it was blackmail."</p>
<p>Auriel groaned, "Ugh, I hate being in the wrong... Being a leader sucks sometimes."</p>
<p>"As much as I'd hate to admit it," Hazel spoke up, "Auriel's got a point. We've combed the city at least a dozen times, but we haven't found Blake anywhere. So either we've been really unlucky, or... well..."</p>
<p>"Or Blake's been avoiding us," Walker finished, "Let's face it, if she's as stubborn as her partner, we could be at this for the next week before we even catch a glimpse of her."</p>
<p>Skyler sighed, "Yeah, I figured that by now..."</p>
<p>"Then why are we still here?!" Auriel exclaimed, waving her arms.</p>
<p>That response was one that SHDW's leader did not reply to. Because if he was being completely honest, it was for more personal reasons. He was beginning to put two and two together at this point in his head. His parents were killed by the White Fang. Blake was supposedly a member of the White Fang. Skyler kept getting a sense of familiarity when he looked at her, and he had the sneaking suspicion that she had the same when she looked at him. But the only way to be one hundred percent sure was to confront her about it himself.</p>
<p>If she had been there with <em>him</em>, Skyler didn't know what he'd do.</p>
<p>But he didn't get to finish his thought process as Tatiana's voice reached his ears, "H-Hey, guys? Are bullheads supposed to be flying this late at night?"</p>
<p>The question confused everyone until they looked up and saw a bullhead airship fly over them and toward the docks, where it then landed.</p>
<p>"No..." Skyler muttered in reply, "I don't think they are... Let's go check it out."</p>
<p>"Oh no!" Auriel immediately said as the rest of them began to book it, "Not again! You are not-Hey!!"</p>
<p>Uriel grabbed her by the arm and yanked her along with the rest of the Hunters in training, causing her to yelp, "This is practically kidnapping!! Meta!! Help me out here!!"</p>
<hr/>
<p>The two teams arrived at the shipyard and maneuvered their way through a maze of giant containers. To their right sat an abandoned, boarded-off warehouse, and to their left they found themselves spectating a standoff between a handful of White Fang members and Blake Belladonna, who was holding a man hostage. Skyler recognized the man as Roman Torchwick, the master criminal who had been on the news recently about Dust robberies. He had heard about the White Fang being suspected of the robberies themselves, so them teaming up with Torchwick didn't seem so farfetched.</p>
<p>But what caught everyone's attention were the two cat ears sticking out where Blake's bow used to be.</p>
<p>"Brothers of the White Fang!" Blake called out, "Why are you aiding this scum?!"</p>
<p>All of Team ATUM slowly turned to look at SHDW when that was announced, Uriel saying, "So... Did you not know about this either, or is there something you want to share with the class?"</p>
<p>"Okay, to be fair," Dante replied, "We didn't think we'd have to."</p>
<p>"That doesn't make things better."</p>
<p>"Eh, had to try."</p>
<p>But before they could argue any further, their attention was caught by the sound of chuckling. They looked and saw the White Fang members... laughing? Clearly, Blake was just as confused as her fellow Hunters in training as Roman chuckled along with his companions.</p>
<p>"Oh, Kitty Kitty," he chastised with a smug grin on his face, "You clearly weren't well informed by your own faction. This is all a front!"</p>
<p>"...What?" Blake muttered, catching up with what Torchwick was getting at.</p>
<p>"Did you actually think the White Fang of all groups would start being thieves?" the criminal explained, "But seeing how much violence they've been causing, they do make quite the easy suspect, don't you agree?"</p>
<p>Blake gritted her teeth, "So you're just using their namesake like... like a pawn?! And make their goal of achieving equality all the more difficult?!"</p>
<p>"I don't know if you've noticed, sweetheart," Roman prodded, "But I think their goal of equality disappeared a long time ago. But either way, I may not play chess a lot, but if there's one concept I know about it..."</p>
<p>Blake then heard the sound of a blade, as well as felt the prick of one on the back of her neck. She slowly turned around to look at the newcomer, along with the two Hunter teams, both having just now noticed the new player. They were a short female, wearing white, dark brown, and pink attire, with the hair to match. Even her eyes were mismatched, with her right eye being pink and her left being brown. In her hand was what appeared to be a closed umbrella, with a blade sticking out at the top and pressing against Blake's neck. And Roman's smirk only widened as he finished his statement.</p>
<p>"It's to always be sure of where your enemy's pieces are placed."</p>
<p>Blake growled, quickly getting the silent message of 'Let him go or I will make you wish you let him go', so she decided to slowly take Gambol Shroud's blade away from Torchwick's neck. He chuckled a bit as he rubbed his neck.</p>
<p>"A wise decision," he said, "Thank you, Neo. And now... Back to it!"</p>
<p>He grabbed the straight end of his cane, Melodic Cudgel, quickly spun around, and smashed Blake under the chin with the curved end. With a cry of pain, she was sent flying straight up in the air, and as she came back down, Neo intercepted her with a kick to the side, sending her sprawling to the ground. The Faunus grunted as she tried to get up, only to feel the barrel of Melodic Cudgel press against the side of her head.</p>
<p>"Well, kitty, not saying this hasn't been fun," Roman taunted, "But this isn't personal. Just business. And..."</p>
<p>He suddenly stopped as he looked to his left and spotted eight heads poking out from behind one of the crates. The two teams quickly retreated back, but it was too late. They were already spotted. Roman blinked, but grinned nonetheless.</p>
<p>"And it appears," he continued, "We aren't alone tonight. I wonder what their reaction will be once your head is blown open like a watermelon?"</p>
<p>But before any further action could be taken, a figure leaped from atop another set of shopping containers, and swung a bow staff at the criminal. The action was so quick, Roman was forced to lift up his cane to block the incoming attack. He was knocked back next to Neo as everyone looked at the new arrival. He had messy blonde hair and wore an open loose-collared white jacket with no shirt underneath, displaying a muscular physique.</p>
<p>"Leave her alone," the new Faunus threatened as he got into a fighting pose.</p>
<p>The only notable response from the Hunters on the sidelines was Auriel poking out from their hiding place, looking at the boy's abs, grinning, and muttering, "Hubba hubba..."</p>
<p>Roman just groaned, "Ugh, how many interruptions am I gonna have tonight? Oh well."</p>
<p>He then raised Melodic Cudgel, but not at Blake or the new guy, but to his left and right at Auriel's poked out head. He immediately fired a shot, which the girl managed to dodge, but the bullet was an explosive round. The resulting detonation sent the entire group sprawling out into the open and into clear view.</p>
<p>"Neo," Roman addressed, "Would you kindly take care of them? I'll deal with the animals over here. Everyone else, take your pick!"</p>
<p>Neo smiled widely and nodded, beginning to calmly stride towards ATUM and SHDW. Half of the fake White Fang grunts stayed behind with Torchwick while the other half rushed past Neo. And then even more grunts made their way out of the other open Bullheads that were in the area and made their way to the two teams as well, seeing the much larger group split off from the two Faunus.</p>
<p>Auriel merely grinned at the sight, a rocket locker suddenly smashing onto the ground next to her, opening up to reveal her weapon of choice, Bellerophon. Well, calling it a weapon was a bit inaccurate. It was actually a bicycle with razors on the double-tired wheels, but it could also shrink and reform into a two-handed circular saw, which is what she chose to do for this instance. Tatiana, meanwhile, simply brought out her fan-gun, aka Strannik.</p>
<p>Uriel, on the other hand, pressed a button that seemed to be attached to his side, and suddenly, the back of his shirt started to stretch and rip. And out from his back popped a pair of reinforced steel, jet propulsion wings, and at the spine of those wings were two sheaths, one on the upper half and one on the lower. The device was called Adramelech Bane. Uriel reached for the lower, pulling out a pump action shotgun, and leaving behind the sword that was in the upper one. Meta simply pulled out his light machine, White Death, and the barrel retracted out, forming it into a sniper rifle.</p>
<p>Team SHDW also brought out their weapons respectively as the eight Hunters in training looked on at the charging enemy squads, forming a circle of defense as the grunts surrounded them.</p>
<p>"What's the plan here, Skyler?" Walker asked his leader.</p>
<p>Skyler was silent for a moment before converting Kasai into its sword-mode, "Hit 'em until they're down. And improvise along the way."</p>
<p>Auriel grinned at that response, "I like your style. Let's keep doing it your way."</p>
<p>
  <em>I know what I have to do now...</em>
  <br/>
  <em>It's my life</em>
  <br/>
  <em>My one and only!!</em>
</p>
<p>The eight of them all rushed at once. The grunts with firearms opened fire, only to have their bullets blocked by various means. Soon enough, Dante and Meta leapt back, the latter hoisting the former on top of one of the crates before joining him. Together, they took potshots at random enemy units, Dante using his Semblance and Meta just using pure skill. However, the SHDW member often found himself jumping when he heard Meta's rifle go off.</p>
<p>
  <em>Wipe the sweat off of my brow</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I see my challenge straight ahead</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I know this isn't easy, but</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Backing down would be my regret</em>
</p>
<p>This was likely the cause of Meta's Semblance, Fade. It was a constantly active ability, making people seem forget he's even there much of the time if they aren't directly looking at him. Unfortunately, this pseudo memory alteration has caused him to have trust issues with those who claimed to be friends. Probably the only reason he follows Auriel's lead is because he's loyal to a fault when it comes to people with authority, which included his team leader.</p>
<p>
  <em>Follow my way!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>We'll run through this debris and wreckage</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Follow my way!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>We'll aim for what's beyond the finish!</em>
</p>
<p>Uriel hovered over the ground, flying through his own crowd of enemies, Walker not too far behind. The two swung their swords at anyone who dared to get in the way, with Uriel clearing a path while Walker picked off any lucky stragglers. One particularly large group of grunts charged at them, only for Uriel to aim a palm at them before closing it into a fist. The entire group suddenly slammed together like magnets while Walker leapt into the air, boosted by his own Semblance, to slice his extended blade whip into all of them at once.</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm chasing down my dreams</em>
  <br/>
  <em>They excite me, my glory is near!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>(I know what I have to do now)</em>
</p>
<p>Uriel's Semblance was known as Gravity Well, a powerful ability which takes any empty space and gives it an intense gravitational pull. It could be used to pin a target in place, pull people away from danger, or, as just used, completely dismantle large crowds of enemies. He landed on the ground on his feet and quickly switched out his sword for his shotgun, just in time to blast a sneaking grunt right in the helmet.</p>
<p>
  <em>All eyes are on me</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Now I've seen what they see in me!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I know what to do this time...</em>
</p>
<p>Tatiana and Hazel worked rather well together. While neither of their Semblances were proving very useful (Tatiana's perception altering doesn't work on more than one person at a time), their skills with their weapons doing all the talking. Both provided their opponents with swift and precise strikes to effectively take them out, both hitting weak points in the enemy's armor. Once it seemed their section was clear, Hazel's eyes flashed blue for a instant. She then leaned Arachne perpendicularly across her shoulder and fired the tip, which smacked a grunt, who was approaching Tatiana, in the face.</p>
<p>
  <em>Make my story!!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>So lay it all on me</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I got this, I want this and more...</em>
</p>
<p>Skyler and Auriel, on the other hand... well, their teamwork was definitely not up to par, but considering how outmatched their opponents were, that didn't really matter. They both simply overpowered them, one grunt at a time, Skyler occasionally pulling Kasai's trigger when he was up against more than two opponents. But when a similarly sized group tried to overpower Auriel through sheer numbers, she activated her Semblance, Mechanical Boost, to easily counter them.</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm making my decision</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I feel within it</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I'm breaking through the wreckage and the flames!!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>(Make my story)</em>
</p>
<p>Mechanical Boost was a rather simple ability, but a quite effective one. While in use, it increases Auriel's stamina, strength, and speed drastically. She never tired whilst in this state, though this has gotten her banned from any and all competitive sports. But this ability made her perfect for becoming a Huntress, along with the better payment options than her previous job as a simple paper girl. Her fighting style was focused around speedy movements to quickly overpower foes. This became apparent once she morphed Bellerophon again, this time into twin machine guns, and twirling to spread out rapid fire shots.</p>
<p>
  <em>I have to believe that</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Through all of the tears that we shed...</em>
</p>
<p>Skyler observed all of this, taking in as much information as he could. After all, they were all going to be in the same classes for the next four years, so he thought he might as well try to figure out who worked with who the best. That aside, he morphed Kasai back into a gun and shot a douse of flames at an approaching enemy, temporarily stunning them before knocking them down with his weapon.</p>
<p>
  <em>All the pain and hurting</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Will all be worth it</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I know I'll see</em>
  <br/>
  <em>You on the other side!!</em>
</p>
<p>Altogether, Teams SHDW and ATUM worked rather well together. They provided each enemy grunt with a quick knockout, expertly dodged most shots made at them, and soon enough, they were down to the final group. Uriel then glided towards Skyler, who, acting quickly, jumped in turn. The ATUM member caught him and swung him at the opposing group. SHDW's leader landed in the middle of all of them before stabbing the ground with Kasai and pulling the trigger. A blast of flames jettisoned all around him, blowing away the last of the grunts.</p>
<p>
  <em>MY ONE AND ONLY!!!</em>
</p>
<p>Then along came Neo Politan, strolling up to them as if nothing had happened. Dante took a shot aimed right at her head, but she merely tilted her head, the bullet whizzing harmlessly past her ear. Tatiana was the first to get to the ice cream themed girl, swinging Strannik as swiftly and precisely as she could. But Neo simply leaned her body back to avoid the first strike, and as Tatiana kept swiping, Neo kept twisting her body, dodging each blow expertly before leaning back on her umbrella and delivering a hard kick right into the opposing girl's stomach, sending her sprawling.</p>
<p>Walker then rushed in, joined afterward by Auriel, who had morphed Bellerophon back into a circular saw, but all they did was get tainted. Without even breaking a sweat, Neo either dodged or redirected every attack that came her way, much to her opponents' annoyance.</p>
<p>"Would. You. Just. Hold. STILL?!" Auriel complained, swinging her saw wildly.</p>
<p>Walker and Auriel both swung towards Neo's midsection, only for the girl to jump and stretch out her feet to kick them both in the face at the same time. Dante then leaped off the crate and morphed Yamato back into Ebony and Ivory, and the rest of his team and ATUM's joined in, except for Meta, who took careful aim. They all leapt at Neo, knowing that you can't dodge hits coming from all directions. And as Meta took a shot, Neo smirked.</p>
<p>As soon as the bullet hit, as well as every other weapon inches away from her body, her entire form shattered like glass. This, in turn, sent everyone tumbling to the ground, and Meta to quickly realize what had happened and scope the area. Some kind of Semblance similar to that of Blake's, only with a much longer range. He then felt a tap on his shoulder, and he swiftly turned around, simultaneously morphing White Death back into a light machine gun. But before he could fire a single bullet, he saw Neo's smiling face, and then her boot.</p>
<p>She did a freaking <em>backflip</em>, kicking his face at the same time, presumably just to show off. Meta was sent flying off the crate and back to his teammates. He groaned, now severely annoyed, right along with the rest of his associates. She gracefully hopped down to the ground, and only <em>now</em> did she unsheathe a blade from her umbrella. That sent a very clear message to them all; she had been toying with them until now. But luckily, a voice called out to her.</p>
<p>"As much as I'd love to see you wrap things up, Neo," Roman called out, Blake and the monkey Faunus breathing heavily some distance away, "It's time we left, don't you think?"</p>
<p>Neo pouted, a face that would've been adorable had it not belonged to a girl who had been about to kill them. She then quickly made her way to Roman's side before they both headed toward one of the open airships.</p>
<p>"Hey!"</p>
<p>Everyone's eyes turned to the upper level of the docks, where they saw Ruby, along with an unfamiliar ginger-haired girl.</p>
<p>"Wait, Ruby?!" Dante exclaimed, "How did she get here?"</p>
<p>"Well, we haven't exactly been quiet," Auriel then stressed, "And we've <em>all</em> been searching <em>all day</em>..."</p>
<p>"Okay, Auriel!" Skyler snapped, "We get it! You don't want to be here!"</p>
<p>"None of us want to be here!" Auriel bit back, "I thought I was signing up for hide and seek, not getting our asses handed to us by some ice cream lady!!"</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Roman groaned as he rolled his eyes. This was not his day <em>at all</em>.</p>
<p>"Again with the interruptions..." he muttered before turning around to address Ruby, "Oh! Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"</p>
<p>'Wait,' Skyler thought, 'They... know each other?'</p>
<p>"Ruby..." the red head asked timidly, "Are these people your friends?"</p>
<p>"Penny, get back," Ruby warned her companion, looking back at her.</p>
<p>And that proved to be a mistake, as Roman quickly lifted Melodic Cudgel and fired a shot, hitting the fifteen year old dead on. Ruby cried out, because though she was mostly protected by her Aura, it still hurt.</p>
<p>"Ruby!!" Skyler and Dante both exclaimed, seeing their surrogate little sister get hurt.</p>
<p>But then someone else got mad at Roman for them: the new girl, Penny, who glared as she stared down at Roman, Neo, and the recovering thieves who were boarding the airships. She took a step forward, preparing to enter the fray.</p>
<p>"Wait! Penny!" Ruby called out to her in fear.</p>
<p>"Don't worry, Ruby," Penny replied, turning to her and smiling cheerfully, "I'm combat ready!"</p>
<p>Suddenly, the backpack she had opened up, and seven objects floated out and unfolded into swords. Floating. Swords. Skyler thought he'd seen it all. But the universe just kept feeling like proving him wrong. Penny then proceeded to send her swords ahead, sticking into the first of two airships as it began to take off. It was then that the Hunters in training noticed that the swords were connected to Penny via strings, and she was using herself as an anchor.</p>
<p>The ship listed, Penny barely moving an inch from her spot. She then yanked the strings, sending the ship careening on its side and smashing onto the docks. Her swords then retracted back to her as the second airship took to the skies, Roman and Neo visible through the open hatch.</p>
<p>"Well, this has been quite the night!" Roman gave them all a two-fingered salute, "I hope to see you all never again!"</p>
<p>But Penny was not done. Her swords then began to rotate around her body, forming a circle as she took careful aim at the Bullhead. A green ball of energy began to build up at its epicenter, and once it was fully charged, Penny fires it as a giant laser straight at Roman's ship. While she didn't miss, she only managed to slice off one of the ship's turbines. But that was still good, as the Bullhead lost all sense of balance and proceeded to crash into the ocean, quickly becoming a flaming wreckage.</p>
<p>Penny made a proud sound and went over to where Ruby was. SHDW and ATUM couldn't help but stare in shock at what had just happened.</p>
<p>'This girl just came in and stole our thunder...' Auriel thought bitterly.</p>
<p>But still, the group of eight was silent, and they couldn't help but feel particularly left out. As if they were side characters in someone else's story. The awkward silence was then thankfully broken by Dante.</p>
<p>"This has been the <em>weirdest</em> day..."</p>
<hr/>
<p>By the time the police arrived, everything had pretty much calmed down. ATUM has already left, Auriel considering the bribery paid a few times over (she would've happily accepted more lien to stick around, but Skyler declined). Penny had disappeared too, though to only the gods know where. There were a few fake White Fang stragglers, but they were quickly dealt with once Yang stepped in, having just arrived on the scene with Weiss. The aforementioned heiress then walked up to her Faunus teammate, who flinched at her presence.</p>
<p>"Weiss," Blake tried explaining, "I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"</p>
<p>"Stop," Weiss interrupted, causing everyone to tense up, "Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you? Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided... I don't care."</p>
<p>Everybody blinked at the statement, Blake replying, "You... don't care?"</p>
<p>"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"</p>
<p>"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"</p>
<p>"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah!" Weiss quickly silenced her, "I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some..."</p>
<p>She looked at Sun behind her and she caught herself, "Someone else."</p>
<p>Blake wiped a tear from her eye, nodding, "Of course."</p>
<p>"Wow," Hazel scowled at the heiress, though not quite as hostile as before, "Ice Queen actually managed to learn a lesson. Go figure."</p>
<p>Weiss then turned her attention to Hazel, the mood going from relieved back to nervous, "Look, I don't know what I did to offend you, but-"</p>
<p>"Your family steamrolled my hometown because of a Dust mine, ruined my life in the process, and practically built a monument over the grave," the SHDW member deadpanned, "It's gonna take more than a simple apology to fix something like that. In fact, I don't even know why Blake's forgiving you so easily, but I guess this stupid mini-war that the White Fang and SDC have going on has this untold 'mutually assured destruction' motif about it, so I assume it's too complicated to go in depth on."</p>
<p>She then stood up and stared Weiss in the face as the Schnee tried to come up with a response, "Let me put it this way, Schnee. I don't like you. I don't think I ever will, and I can't think of any way you can pay recompense for what I've been through."</p>
<p>Weiss' mouth shut as she tried not to say anything. She well understood that reasoning. She knew her family's company had destroyed many families' lives before, and probably still are, even those that aren't Faunus. But never had she come across one such family. Hazel's pain came from a place of deep resentment, and it was going to take a while for Weiss to properly make up for it. Now she was beginning to realize the size of the hole she was going to have to dig her family's reputation out of.</p>
<p>"However..." Hazel then said, taking a deep breath as Weiss snapped to attention, "You weren't the only one who spent hours upon hours thinking. I'll be willing to... set aside some of my negativity towards you. You weren't the one responsible, and it's unfair to place the blame on the actions of everyone involved in that affair. BUT."</p>
<p>Weiss flinched at that as Hazel leaned in, "Don't expect <em>all</em> of my hostility to go out the window. I'll stop considering you an enemy, but we're not friends. So a good middle ground should be required. So... be my rival."</p>
<p>Everyone was taken aback, some even gasping. Sun was feeling particularly out of place in this, so he decided to concentrate on something else. Perhaps on Blake? Yeah, concentrating on Blake was good. Dante, meanwhile, blinked, this certainly not being the direction he thought this conversation was heading.</p>
<p>"...What?" Weiss responded, dumbfounded.</p>
<p>"Rivalry can be a mutually beneficial relationship," Hazel explained, a smirk growing on her face, "Someone needs to keep you in line, and I need a good fighter to spar against. Having you as a rival seems to be a good solution since neither of us seem to like the other, as well as simultaneously help us both get stronger. Sound good to you?"</p>
<p>Weiss let out a noise from her mouth, though nobody could tell if that was positive or negative. She was completely unsure on how to take this. True, she still didn't like Hazel all that much, despite trying to at least make amends with her, and the Mistralian was quite the competent fighter. Perhaps she had a point. Yes, Weiss had her sister as a mentor, but maybe training with someone on par with her who will constantly push her could wield different results. Maybe even... <em>that</em> ability.</p>
<p>Weiss coughed before turning around to hide her smile, "Hmph! Someone who is not of the same standing as I is asking to be my rival? Quite the offering you're making, Tikal."</p>
<p>"Take it or leave it, Ice Queen," Hazel replied, her smirk widening as her teammates began to grin.</p>
<p>Weiss turned her head as her own teammates made similar expressions as SDW's, "I never said I <em>refused</em> the offering, did I?"</p>
<p>Hazel stuck out her hand in response, and Weiss glanced at it for a moment. Was she really doing this? Was she actually making a true rival for herself? What would her sister think about this? Would this truly yield better results than that of her training with Winter?</p>
<p>She then adopted a similar smirk to Hazel's and she thought, 'You know what; why not?'</p>
<p>She grabbed the other girl's hand, and shook it. Ruby let out a cheer, both her and Sun glad that the uncomfortable atmosphere was gone. Dante and Walker couldn't help but chuckle, the former giving Hazel a fond smile. Yang put her arm on top of Blake's head, both continuing to grin at the sight. Then Blake's eyes met Skyler's, the boy having been smiling at the scene before looking at her.</p>
<p>He had been contemplating Blake's words since Weiss had appeared. According to her wording, Blake hadn't been a member of the White Fang for quite some time now. So his suspicions about her were proving to be incorrect. She wasn't with <em>him</em> when Skyler's parents were killed. A certain masked, red haired Faunus to be exact. Did Blake know someone like that Faunus? It was a possibility, but now Skyler wasn't quite in the mood to ask her about it. And he was sure she felt the same.</p>
<p>But nevertheless, things seemed to be working out just fine. Maybe keeping the status quo was a good idea for now.</p>
<hr/>
<p>However, above on the rooftops, looking over the docks, were two figures, one standing and one crouching. The one standing was a white-haired male with piercing yellow eyes, wearing a red collar shirt with yellow bar insignia on the shoulders, as well as black pants and combat boots. His appearance was cut as a professional figure, and on his back was sheathed a short spear. The crouching one was a blue-eyed female with long scarlet hair, wearing a crimson short-cut dress uniform with a cleavage window, as well as black leggings and battle heels. Both were looking at the aforementioned teams, analyzing them closely.</p>
<p>The female sighed in disappointment as she looked at the crowd of assorted Beacon students below before addressing the male, "Welp, you were right. We were just a bit too late. That Belladonna girl is already attending Beacon. What should we do now?"</p>
<p>The air was silent for a moment, causing the girl to turn to her partner, "Nathan? You there?"</p>
<p>The man, Nathan, ceased his gazing at the Beacon teams, his eyes having been narrowed at Team SHDW in particular, and turned to the girl, "It's fine, Brittany, I heard you. As for what to do next..."</p>
<p>He gave a small shrug, "Well, all we really can do is wait until the tournament. The Belladonna girl is no longer a concern."</p>
<p>Brittany grinned and fully sat down to flex her legs, "Finally! A break! Time to give these barking dogs a rest!"</p>
<p>Nathan rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but slightly grin himself, "Don't get too comfortable. We've still got to report to Elizabeth and Edward the news, as well as hope we don't get anymore job requests."</p>
<p>The girl groaned, "We better not. That old fart better not take away this chance to participate in the tournament if he knows what's good for him."</p>
<p>"I doubt so," Nathan assured, "The White Fang have been unusually quiet recently. The only reason there was a commotion tonight was because Belladonna and the other teams interfered. And these weren't even actually the White Fang. But since they are the Schnees' primary problem, I wouldn't expect anything, but stay on alert."</p>
<p>Brittany let out a raspberry, "You got it, boss."</p>
<p>She began to walk away, but noticed her partner still looking down at the assembled crowd that was now beginning to disperse. She raised an eyebrow at this odd behavior. Nathan was still silently studying the leader of Team SHDW with a curious glint in his eye. He had hoped to talk with him tonight, but had arrived just too late.</p>
<p>"Nath?" Brittany inquired, "You coming?"</p>
<p>Nathan snapped out of his concentration and turned back to her, "Yeah, I'm coming."</p>
<p>Oh well. The Vytal Festival was fast approaching. And what better way for two foreign team leaders to meet and have a talk?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that wraps up the RWBY Volume 1 portion of this book, and honestly? I had a lot more fun doing this than I thought I would. And that only makes me more excited for the Volume 2 portion! I even might get Team EBNE involved more in this story now, which is gonna be great! The song used was NateWantsToBattle's cover of Make My Story, which I thought was fitting, just to show off how the characters have grown since the last time I used that song (i.e. in Chapter 4). I always like parallels like that. Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 10: The Best Day Ever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys, this is TyForestWrites, and welcome back to Team SHDW Volume 1! I know it hasn't been that long, but I make it a habit that whenever I enter a new volume of the RWBY canon, I make an intro to signify it. A habit that likely won't break until Team SHDW Volume 3, where the story divulges from the canon of the show. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.</p>
<p>RWBY Volume 2 is certainly going to be an interesting animal to tackle. This section of this book is where a lot of character growths will happen more than cool fight scenes (though there will still be plenty of those), so there's that to look forward to. Some characters and concepts will be introduced sooner than I originally thought they would, but hey, I don't think I'll be hearing any complaining.</p>
<p>But without further ado, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One semester of Beacon has gone and went, as well as the break that followed. Everyone had left the school for winter break, and all came back two weeks later, ready to start the new year and semester (or not, who knows?). Hazel Tikal and Walker Elliot were sitting on a bench near the landing area for the airships. The two had arrived at roughly the same time, and were now waiting for their last two teammates to arrive.</p>
<p>Hazel had spent her two weeks back in Mistral with her mother, where there was a touching reunion and she could tell her mom all about her exploits as a Huntress in training. Unlike certain other parents, Kendra was extremely proud of her daughter for helping take on Roman Torchwick and his forces. She had never seemed to mind in the rare times Hazel got in trouble, simply because she trusted her daughter to keep a clear head, or be completely justified in her offense. Hazel nearly cried when she got home, learning that her mom finally had a stable income and was renting an apartment. Hazel knew that it was probably only because her mom only had herself to feed with her daughter being at Beacon, but she didn't exactly care, only for the newfound stability in her life.</p>
<p>For Walker... his was a different story. Yes, he had gone back home just like his teammates, a two story house near the coast next to the island of Patch, but his two weeks were much less warm than his teammates. His parents were treating his arrival as if he had been gone to the store for fifteen minutes rather than gone to a Hunters Academy for almost five months. At least his twin sister, Samantha, seemed to be overjoyed at his arrival, though it was hard to tell, her being mentally handicapped and all. It was because of this that Walker at least understood why his parents were neglectful towards him in favor of Sam, but that didn't mean he had to like it.</p>
<p>"Hey guys!!"</p>
<p>Hazel and Walker looked up to see an airship docked and a crowd of people dispersing from it. And speeding towards them were Walker's partner, Dante Williams, and Hazel's partner and Team SHDW's leader, Skyler Yin. The two on the bench quickly got up to meet their teammates halfway with wide smiles. As much as Hazel had enjoyed being with her mom again, not having her team around just felt wrong to her. Walker, on the other hand, was almost overjoyed to see them all again, as his team was the closest thing he had to a real family aside from maybe his sister.</p>
<p>"Yo!" Dante grinned as he gave Walker a fist bump, "It has been far too long, my friend!"</p>
<p>"I couldn't agree more," Walker smiled back.</p>
<p>"Just didn't feel right not having everyone around," Skyler said, giving Hazel a high five.</p>
<p>"Ugh, I know!" the Huntress in training groaned in agreement, "As much as I loved seeing Mom again, it was, dare I say, boring without you guys around!"</p>
<p>"Even more boring for us, though," Dante interjected, "As soon as my parents caught wind of our escapades at the docks, we were pretty much grounded the entirety of break! What a thanks for saving the day, am I right?"</p>
<p>"It was the same for Yang and Ruby," Skyler added, "So at the very least, we were all able to share in the misery."</p>
<p>"Speaking of whom," Walker said, looking behind them, "I assume they came on the same ship as you? We saw Weiss and Blake around earlier, but not the others."</p>
<p>"Yeah, they were right behind us," Dante looked back and quickly spotted Ruby Rose's excited form giving quick hugs to Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna as Yang Xiao Long watched in amusement, "No offense to this obviously awesome team, but me, Skyler, Yang, and Ruby? We're, like, <em>the</em> team. We're sticking together to the end."</p>
<p>"None taken whatsoever," Hazel replied, "That's to be expected."</p>
<p>"And not to break up this touching reunion," Walker said, "But I've barely eaten, and it's one in the afternoon. I'm ready for lunch."</p>
<p>"Same here," Skyler responded, beginning to walk ahead, "Let's get our first meal as a team since last semester!"</p>
<p>The rest of them gave approval to their leader as they quickly followed. But then, Dante pulled Hazel back, falling behind their teammates.</p>
<p>"What is it?" Hazel asked.</p>
<p>"Just got to let you know," Dante informed, "New developments on the Skyler and Yang front."</p>
<p>Hazel's eyes bugged, "Oh, I've <em>got</em> to hear this! Those two are my soap opera."</p>
<p>"Well, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, they've finally accepted the fact that the other has a crush on them."</p>
<p>Hazel blinked, "Okay, that sounds really freaking definitive, so what's the bad news?"</p>
<p>Dante gave a hiss as he made a weird expression, "The bad news is that because they came to these conclusions of their own accord, and not via confessions, both are now hellbent on getting the other to confess first. They've been at it since a few days after last semester ended."</p>
<p>Hazel felt as though her soul had been dropped into the pavement, "...You're kidding."</p>
<p>"Oh, how I wish I was."</p>
<p>"They were doing so well!! How could you let this happen?!"</p>
<p>"Me?! What do you think I've been trying to do?! I tried to stop this from happening, but they're too freaking competitive! There just comes a point in time where you lose control of a situation and have no hope of ever getting it back."</p>
<p>Hazel gave a heavy sigh as they approached the doors to the school, "Love truly is war, after all..."</p>
<p>"I could not have said it better myself."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Auriel Hawk had never really considered herself a leader in any sense of the word before attending Beacon. Despite her extroverted personality, she didn't think she could connect with people on that kind of level. Maybe it was the teammates she was given for Team ATUM, but she surprised herself on how quickly she took up the mantle of leadership with ease. Meta Simuna was the easiest to lead, as he definitely seemed as though he was used to obeying orders without question. Uriel Seraph was a lot more skeptical, but he at least seemed to go with the flow with her. And if Tatiana Epona had any complaints, she was too socially inept to voice them.</p>
<p>That being said, while she couldn't exactly say she was friends with Team SHDW, the two teams were certainly on good terms, despite Auriel's clear disagreement with the whole 'getting involved at the docks' situation. She definitely liked Dante the best out of them all, as they had strikingly similar personalities, aside from Auriel's money-grubbing. So when she saw SHDW enter the cafeteria and get their lunch, she waved excitedly at them while she sat with her own team.</p>
<p>"Hey guys!" she exclaimed, "Good to see you again!"</p>
<p>"Is it really?" Skyler replied with a small smile and a raised eyebrow.</p>
<p>Auriel shrugged, "Look, we may have displayed a bit of hostility for getting dragged to the docks in the middle of the night-"</p>
<p>"<em>You</em> displayed hostility," Uriel was quick to correct with a sigh.</p>
<p>"Which isn't the point," ATUM's leader glared at her teammate before addressing SHDW again, "But the past is the past. No sense holding grudges over it."</p>
<p>"Hey, we got our due punishment for that," Dante pointed out, "So I guess it all evens out anyway."</p>
<p>It was at that moment, as SHDW took their seats next on the table next to them (so that the two teams were on the same row) was when Team RWBY entered their cafeteria and got their lunch trays, soon followed by Team JNPR. They made their way over to the table where SHDW was sitting, and as they approached, Skyler and Yang locked gazes with narrowed eyes. There was no hostility between them, but there was... something Auriel could not identify.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Skyler and Yang's thoughts were moving a million miles per hour, analyzing the situation and thinking how to gain an advantage. RWBY sat down at the same table as SHDW across from them, and Skyler and Yang's eyes never left each other. Dante, Ruby, and Hazel could only look at them with exasperated expressions, already tired of all of it.</p>
<p>Skyler was currently concocting plans by thinking back to what he had seen earlier on in the day when walking through Beacon's halls, thinking about where and when to get his victorious moment of Yang confessing to him. Yang, on the other hand, had a different mindset. While Skyler was great at general, long term strategies, Yang was a perfect 'in the moment' strategist, great at thinking on her feet. She was analyzing their surroundings and thinking of ways to lure her crush into a self-made trap. Perhaps those early-Valentines cookies at the end of the lunch line could be used for something?</p>
<p>But before either of them could enact a plan, they were met by the chaotic, unpredictable interference in their lives, also known as Ruby Rose. The younger girl had thankfully thought ahead by grabbing her newly made binder that was filled to the brim with new ideas for the new semester. She interrupted the two's thought process by slamming down said binder at the head of the table and clearing her throat.</p>
<p>"Sisters!" she said, addressing everyone, "Friends! Weiss."</p>
<p>"Hey!" the white haired girl exclaimed.</p>
<p>"Four score and seven minutes ago," Ruby continued, "I had a dream!"</p>
<p>"This oughta be good," Dante grinned before a grape flew at his face via Nora Valkyrie, who had sat down next to ATUM along with the rest of Team JNPR, and he promptly caught the small fruit in his mouth.</p>
<p>"A dream that one day," Ruby said dramatically, "All of us will come together as friends and have the most fun anyone has ever had... <em>ever</em>!"</p>
<p>Weiss then eyed the folder suspiciously, "Did you steal my binder?"</p>
<p>Ruby made peace signs with both of her hands, "I am not a crook."</p>
<p>"What are you talking about?" Blake asked, her attention previously being on her now closed notebook.</p>
<p>"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" Ruby smiled.</p>
<p>Yang's mouth suddenly shot up into a large grin, "I always kick my semesters off-"</p>
<p>"Don't you dare-" Skyler warned, him and Dante looking fearful.</p>
<p>"With a <em>Yang</em>!" the blonde finished, earning groans from a all around the table, "Eh? Guys? Am I right?"</p>
<p>She was suddenly hit in the forehead by an apple, followed by Nora shouting, "Boo!!"</p>
<p>"Godsdammit, Yang..." Skyler muttered, his face in his hands.</p>
<p>"Look guys, it was a good first semester, and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament in the summer, our second semester is going to be great!" Ruby explained, "But classes start back up tomorrow... Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today!"</p>
<p>"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss stated.</p>
<p>"I think it's good to have a healthy combination of both," Dante replied with nods of agreement from Walker and Hazel.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Yang, now mad that Nora dared to challenge her, threw her own apple, but missed and nailed Auriel on the side of the head, "Hey, watch it!"</p>
<p>"I don't know," Blake muttered nervously, "I think I might sit this one out."</p>
<p>Skyler took notice of the nervousness and eyed the notebook in Blake's hands. While observing everything earlier, he had noticed Blake looking through the book and looking at some old drawings. He noticed a few White Fang stuff in it, but nothing too remarkable... until he saw the outline of a familiar looking sword. She had closed the book before he could think about it further, but he noticed she did not look pleased when gazing at the page.</p>
<p>"Sit out or not," Weiss interjected, "I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team."</p>
<p>Suddenly, Auriel had a pie in her hands, ready to enact her vengeance, "I got her!"</p>
<p>Weiss stood up, not noticing ATUM's leader, "I, for one, think that-"</p>
<p>She was interrupted by the pie missing Yang entirely and slamming into Weiss' face. The pie slowly slid down, the whipped cream that was on it remaining on her face. The heiress' eye twitched as they all slowly looked at Auriel, who had momentarily frozen up at her mistake before swiftly pointing at Uriel, who could only face-palm. All of a sudden, there was a snort as Hazel absolutely lost it.</p>
<p>"L-Look at this!!" Hazel laughed loudly, "Her face now matches the rest of her!!"</p>
<hr/>
<p>Skyler wasn't sure just how things escalated so quickly, but then again, he didn't necessarily have time to ponder it. All he remembered after the pie slid off of Weiss' face was Hazel laughing, students running, students screaming, and Jaune Arc being hurled into a window. And now, his team, RWBY, ATUM, and JNPR were the only ones left in the cafeteria in a team v team v team v team free-for-all. The tables were now even arranged into a stack, with JNPR on multiple levels, with Nora at the top.</p>
<p>"I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE!!!" Nora bellowed, "I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE!!!"</p>
<p>Ruby slammed her foot down, clutching a milk carton in one hand, "Justice will be swift!! Justice will be painful!!"</p>
<p>She squeezed the milk out before yelling, "It will be DELICIOUS!!!"</p>
<p>Her team cheered behind her as the battle commenced.</p>
<p>
  <em>One day, I set my eyes up to the sky</em>
  <br/>
  <em>And like a plane, my dreams were passing by</em>
  <br/>
  <em>And I awoke to tears that had filled my eyes</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I need to spread my wings out and fly</em>
</p>
<p>As RWBY battled it out with JNPR, ATUM rushed towards SHDW, an assortment of various foods in all of their hands. Skyler ran towards Uriel first, snatching a baguette from the nearby food counter to collide at Uriel's own. Dante managed to grab two leaks and proceeded to swing to counter Auriel's celery. Hazel grabbed her own baguette and fought with Tatiana, who already looked terrified while clutching her own two leaks. Meta provided backup for his team by shaking up a few soda cans and using them as makeshift grenades, while Walker did his best to bat away the cans with some celery.</p>
<p>
  <em>I lie awake at night with these memories</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Of feeling powerless and they're haunting me</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I'm always reaching out for this destiny</em>
  <br/>
  <em>To make it happen, that's all on me</em>
</p>
<p>Eventually, their fight wound up getting intermingled with RWBY and JNPR's fight, and it became utter chaos. Skyler and Uriel's baguette brawl soon came into contact with Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby, causing SHDW's leader to think quickly before breaking his bread in half to block both Pyrrha and Uriel at once. He began to dual wield the bread, managing to keep his opponents away at a safe distance, though Ruby occasionally zoomed past his defense to try, and fail, to smash some mustard packets in his face.</p>
<p>
  <em>Cruel fate sets in motion</em>
  <br/>
  <em>And no one else knows why</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Waiting for the day to come, when will it show up</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Claiming what's before my eyes?</em>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Weiss had somehow found a swordfish and proceeded to charge at Hazel, who found herself now fighting on two fronts with her rival and Tatiana, but her struggle was alleviated by the intervention of Lie Ren, who jumped into the fray with his twin leaks. The Schnee heiress was knocked out of the fight when the boy slammed both of his hands into her chest, like how he took care of a King Taijitu Grimm back in the Emerald Forest, sending her careening into the pillar near the entrance.</p>
<p>
  <em>With every issue</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I gotta breathe through</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Or the moment might just pass</em>
</p>
<p>Dante and Auriel's fight crashed into Yang and Nora's, the boy making a squeak as he was barely able to duck under one of Yang's turkey punches. Nora, who had somehow found a bar and an entire watermelon to attach to it, took a swing at ATUM's leader, who only managed to block it because of her Semblance. The four Hunter fight then became a three Hunter fight, when Nora landed a soaring hit on Yang, smashing the blonde through the roof.</p>
<p>
  <em>They all told me I can't</em>
  <br/>
  <em>They were laughing</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Well, look who's laughing now!</em>
</p>
<p>Walker made his way over to Blake and Jaune, the latter of which dodging as much as he could in the environment he was placed in, while Meta's makeshift grenades crashed around him. Walker tried hitting the Faunus with his celery while dodging her sausage chain, but her Semblance allowed her to avoid each strike. Blake's luck soon ran out though, since Walker managed to weaken her defenses before blasting her with a gust of wind, sending her flying to the opposite side of the cafeteria and out of the fight.</p>
<p>
  <em>Now I can feel the fire burning deep within me</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I'll be the hero and no one can stop me</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Loudly I will scream it from the top of my lungs!!</em>
</p>
<p>Ruby, now being the last one on her team standing, glared at her opponents with a determined gaze before crouching. Her form began to vibrate, almost like the starting up of an engine.</p>
<p>Seeing this, Skyler momentarily panicked, "Everyone get down!!"</p>
<p>But his warning came too late. Ruby used her Semblance to blast forward, zooming past everyone. A sideways tornado of debris soon followed her, and the air currents quickly scooped up the Hunters in training as well. She skidded to a halt at the end of the cafeteria, the force from her stop cratering the wall, and the people caught up in the whirlwind slammed into it.</p>
<p>
  <em>You've got those tired eyes from crying every moment</em>
  <br/>
  <em>You cannot hide it, someone's gonna notice</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I'll be your hero, no one's gonna hurt you again!</em>
</p>
<p>They could only look on in horror as Ruby jumped up and out of the way. Food, silverware, plates, and even parts of tables and chairs crashed into them, painting them and the wall behind them. And all was said and done once Ruby landed back into the ground dramatically, her cape flapping a little from the remaining wind.</p>
<p>
  <em>Gonna raise my hand with a peace sign!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Our story will last forever!!</em>
</p>
<p>The three teams, now completely covered in edible debris, slowly slid down the ruined wall and collapsed onto the floor. But before another word could be said by anyone, the admittedly joyful atmosphere was cut in half by the cafeteria doors slamming open, and in stepped Professor Glynda Goodwitch. She growled as she marched into the midst of what used to be chaos incarnate and flicked her wand a few times. Tables, chairs, and rubble all began to levitate and swiftly go back to where they belonged, fixing the lunchroom as if nothing had happened.</p>
<p>"Children, <em>please</em>," Glynda pushed up her glasses, "Do <em>not</em> play with your food!"</p>
<p>The tension was broken by two things: Nora letting out a large belch and Yang crashing back down from the ceiling where the aforementioned girl had launched her and smashing into a table. At that, everyone couldn't help it and just started cracking up as Yang got to her feet and gave a grin and a thumbs up. Glynda growled again, but felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Headmaster Ozpin giving the group an amused look.</p>
<p>"Let it go," he stated, giving her a small smile.</p>
<p>The female professor gave a heavy sigh, "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world..."</p>
<p>"And they will be," Ozpin replied, "But for now, they're just children. So why not let them play the part? After all..."</p>
<p>He turned and began to walk out before frowning ominously, "It isn't a role they'll have forever."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You know, going through the older volumes of the show is so weird now. Because you hear all of these ominous messages from people like Ozpin, and then you remember what the canon does later on and you just say to yourself, "Really? THIS is what they were building up to?" Like, sometimes it's not all bad (hints at Salem are particularly clever), but then you remember the background of these hinted at concepts, and you can't help but facepalm.</p>
<p>And yes, I am basically basing Skyler and Yang's situation off of the "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" series. Because I can. And because I need to spice up Yang and Skyler's relationship. But I digress. Thus ends the first chapter of the RWBY Volume 2 section of Team SHDW Volume 1! Sorry it took so long to come out... The song used was NateWantsToBattle's cover of Peace Sign, the second OP of My Hero Academia. Hope you all enjoyed, and there's so much more to come! Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 11: Welcome to Beacon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Geography of Northern Atlas?"</p><p>"Mountainous and snowy."</p><p>"Close enough."</p><p>Walker and Dante were currently studying up for the first exam for their Dust/Geography class in the library, the former asking the questions. The rest of Team SHDW was watching Team RWBY playing Remnant: The Game against each other. Team JNPR was doing their own studying, if you call Nora napping and Jaune trying to read a comic book studying. And Team ATUM was... doing what they did best; Auriel pretending to study, consequently bugging Uriel, Tatiana being too nervous to speak up, and Meta doing the actual studying.</p><p>Meanwhile, with Walker and Dante...</p><p>"Continent the Great War ended on?"</p><p>"Sanus."</p><p>"Correct. Color of Wind Dust?"</p><p>"Uh... Crap, this always gets me... White?"</p><p>"Technically correct, but considering Professor Peach teaches a nature-esque class, you'd get that incorrect. While Wind Dust can indeed be white in color, that's the modified version used in weaponry. The pure version of the stuff that's found in the wild is actually green."</p><p>"Argh!!" Dante cried, scratching at his head, "You'd think I'd remember which was which by now, but nooo! Thanks a lot, brain, you wet sock..."</p><p>Walker had to blink at that, "That's a... <em>unique</em> insult..."</p><p>Dante waved it off, "Me, Skyler, and Yang once made an entire list of original insults a few years ago. Skyler came up with the best one. Hey, Sky, what was that insult again?"</p><p>Skyler turned to them with a blank face, "Go step on a Lego barefoot, you ten piece chicken McNobody."</p><p>Dante smirked and pointed a finger gun back, "That's the one!"</p><p>Auriel immediately materialized over to them, "So... mind if I have a few? For purely scientific purposes."</p><p>Dante looked at her dead in the eye, "Shred a shoe, you absolute freaking walnut."</p><p>"Thank you!"</p><p>She disappeared back to her team as Walker shook his head, "You people from Patch have some weird traditions."</p><p>Skyler looked back at him and said jokingly, "What do you mean, 'you people'?"</p><p>Before Walker could reply, Ruby suddenly cried out, "Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for battle!"</p><p>Yang smirked, accepting the challenge, "Bring it on!"</p><p>Ruby slapped a card down on the table, "I deploy the Atlesian Air Fleet! Looks like I get to fly right over your Ursai and attack your walls directly!"</p><p>Yang feigned shock and horror, "You fiend!"</p><p>"And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time is only one turn!" Ruby smiled confidently, only to have it fade when Yang began laughing arrogantly.</p><p>Yang raised a card of her, "Pretty sneaky, sis, but you just activated my trap card! Giant Nevermore! If I roll a seven or higher, fatal feathers will slice your fleet in two!"</p><p>"But, if you roll a six or lower," RWBY's leader countered, "The Nevermore will turn on your own forces!"</p><p>"That's just a chance I'm willing to take."</p><p>Yang shook the D20 in her hand violently before rolling it across the table, rolling... a nine.</p><p>"Nooooo!!" Ruby cried out in horror, "My fearless soldiers!"</p><p>"Eh, most of them were probably androids," Yang waved off.</p><p>"Goodbye my friends... <em>you will be avenged</em>."</p><p>"I get that you girls are eccentric," Uriel told the girls from his spot next to Auriel, "But may you please keep the volume to a minimum? Some of us actually care about this semester."</p><p>"Oh really?" Yang shot back with a grin, "Does your team <em>really</em> share that sentiment?"</p><p>Uriel looked over to his leader, who was poorly hiding a shonen manga tucked into the textbook she was holding. He then looked at Tatiana, who'd been silently observing RWBY's shenanigans with mild amusement before making an <em>eep</em> sound when she noticed he was looking and immediately went back to study in her book. He finally turned his attention to Meta, who just looked up at him and shrugged.</p><p>Uriel responded to Yang's rebuttal by groaning and slamming his head down in his open textbook, "I probably do too much for this team..."</p><p>Weiss looked up from her cards and finally spoke, "I have... absolutely no idea what's going on."</p><p>"With the game or just in general?" Hazel asked.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>Hazel nodded, "Understandable. I figured a simple game like this would be too much for you, Ice Queen."</p><p>Weiss responded by looking back at her rival with a glare before Yang came in to help, "Look, it's easy! You're playing as Vacuo which means that all Vacuo-based cards come with a bonus."</p><p>"That sounds dumb," Weiss muttered.</p><p>As Yang continued to explain, Dante turned his attention to JNPR, "I don't suppose you guys are having any better luck with studying either?"</p><p>Jaune looked up from his X-Ray and Vav comic, "I gave up after trying to figure out how Vacuo got involved in the Great War..."</p><p>"Jaune, we've been over this," Pyrrha interjected.</p><p>"Yeah, I get it, yet I don't!" Jaune threw his hands up in the air, "They joined the war just because they felt <em>threatened</em>? Doesn't make sense to me."</p><p>"People have started wars over much less," Walker explained, "You'd be surprised how many wars got started just because some trade routes got overtaxed."</p><p>But back with the game...</p><p>"And that means..." Weiss said, still confused</p><p>"You're just three moves away from conquering Remnant!" Ruby answered, partially laying on the table with tears in her eyes.</p><p>Weiss blinked before realizing the true power that lied in her hands, so she stood up and laughed maniacally, "Yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms-"</p><p>"Trap card."</p><p>"Eh?"</p><p>Yang shuffled Weiss' game pieces around on the table smugly, "Your armies have been destroyed."</p><p>Weiss collapsed back into her seat, on the verge of tears, "I hate this game of emotions we play..."</p><p>Ruby leaped into Weiss' lap and enveloped her partner in a hug, "Stay strong, Weiss! We'll make it through this together!"</p><p>Weiss hugged back, "Shut up! Don't touch me!"</p><p>"Oh, how the mighty hath fallen," Hazel taunted, but the Schnee heiress couldn't bring herself to even care to respond.</p><p>"Alright Blake, you're up!" Yang then said, putting her arms behind her head, assured in her victory.</p><p>Blake blinked, snapping out of a trance, "Oh, um, sorry, what am I doing?"</p><p>"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the Kingdoms of Remnant!"</p><p>Blake shifted in her seat, uncomfortable, "Right..."</p><p>Skyler watched this exchange, trying to piece together Blake's thought process. He's been meaning to talk to her since getting back to Beacon, but hadn't found a chance to get her alone. You'd think it'd be easy, considering she was the most introverted on her team, along with clearly feeling distant ever since school started back up, but apparently not.</p><p>"Sup losers."</p><p>Skyler's own thought process was interrupted as Sun Wukong, the guy who'd been at the docks with Blake, appeared, holding his fingers in a peace sign. Along with him was a blue haired male with goggles on his forehead and was wearing maroon and blue attire.</p><p>"Hey Sun!" Ruby greeted.</p><p>"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ice Queen," Sun greeted back.</p><p>"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" Weiss finally asked.</p><p>"Geez, I cannot <em>fathom</em> why," Hazel replied sarcastically, earning her another glare.</p><p>"I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend," Sun said, ignorant of the interaction.</p><p>"Uh, aren't libraries for reading?" the blue haired guy questioned.</p><p>Ren and Uriel simultaneously threw their arms up, "Thank you!!"</p><p>The sudden action caused Nora to awaken, "Pancakes!"</p><p>"Shut up," Sun teased his teammate, "Don't be a nerd."</p><p>The guy shook a finger at the monkey Faunus, "No, no! 'Intellectual', okay? Thank you."</p><p>He then waved to the group, "I'm Neptune Vasilias."</p><p>"So Neptune," Weiss spoke up, "Where are you from?"</p><p>"Haven," Neptune answered, approaching her, "And I don't believe I've caught your name, snow angel."</p><p>Weiss got visibly flustered, "Um, I'm Weiss."</p><p>Ignoring Jaune's distress in the background, Neptune replied, "Pleasure to meet you."</p><p>Sun turned his attention to Blake, "I never took you as the board game playing type."</p><p>Blake got up and shoved Sun aside to leave, "Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later."</p><p>She trudged away, the room filling with an awkward tension. Skyler wanted to try and follow her, just for the opportunity to talk to her alone, but seeing as how easily she brushed off Sun, maybe now wasn't the best time.</p><p>To break the tension, Nora shrugged and let out, "Pfft. Women."</p><p>"I know, right?" Dante replied incredulously.</p>
<hr/><p>Later that night, at almost curfew, no less, Skyler was walking back to his dorm, rubbing his eyes due to drowsiness. He knew he was probably working himself to an early grave trying to study both for the semester <em>and</em> strategize for the upcoming tournament he and his team were qualifying for.</p><p>But he had to work that hard. Whether he liked it or not, despite that one incident at the docks, Team SHDW was still green. There was the possibility of fighting experienced Hunter teams who have gone on actual life or death missions. Team CFVY, for example, came to mind, giving Skyler the shivers. If they were going to fight people like that, he needed his team to perform at their best.</p><p>It was only when he was about to open the door to his dorm when he noticed the piece of paper taped to the front of it, not addressed to anyone. Skyler blinked at it, confused until he saw the familiar handwriting, and immediately knew what this was all about.</p><p>"Do you like me? (Check one)<br/>
-Yes?<br/>
-Definitely?<br/>
-Absolutely?"</p><p>Skyler eyed the note with an unimpressed look, "Nice try, Xiao Long. But your plan has one simple flaw."</p><p>He took the note off the door, walked over to RWBY's door, placed the note there, and walked off, "Scotch tape is easily removable."</p>
<hr/><p>"Yang?" Ruby asked the next morning, having opened the door and spotted the note, "Why did you place that note you wrote on our own door?"</p><p>Yang blinked at her sister before rushing over next to her, her mouth agape, "That little..."</p><p>She now had a choice: admit defeat and throw away the note... or admit defeat and actually respond. He placed that note back there as his own form of <em>response</em>, as if to say 'no u.' He had taken the fact that there were no names on the paper to his advantage. Yang growled and punched the door frame.</p><p>"Well played, Yin... Well played."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For those of you who might be wondering, Auriel was reading Hunter x Hunter instead of studying. And honestly, who can blame her? I was hoping for this chapter to be longer, but ran out of stuff to think of including. Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 12: A Minor Hiccup</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Did you know that nobody knows why Grimm exclusively hunt down humans? Sure, they'd attack the occasional wild animal and maybe even their own kind, but humans were always their number one target. Grimm didn't even eat humans, just killed, like it was their sworn duty as monsters. No one knows why Grimm seem to hate humanity as much as they do. It was one of life's greatest mysteries, and one Dante wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.</p>
<p>Despite the usual nonsensical ramblings Professor Port gave, the Huntsman teacher did occasionally peak Dante's interest in some of the things he mentioned. Grimm don't need sustenance of any kind, they're practically immune to experimentation and study due to disintegrating when killed, along with dying in captivity quickly, they're attracted to negative emotions, etcetera etcetera. And there were little to no answers as to why outside of religious beliefs.</p>
<p>Dante was merely only pondering these things, as nothing else in Port's class was interesting him at the moment. Jaune trying and utterly failing to ask out Weiss? Yeah, that wasn't exactly new. Skyler was pretending to listen by continuously writing, not what Port was rambling, but what plans he was creating to trap Yang into confessing. While that was amusing in and of itself, Dante was starting to get a tiny bit sick of it.</p>
<p>Then his eyes landed on Hazel. She had one cheek rested on one hand, and her pencil twirling in the other. She looked just about as bored as he felt, just waiting for Port to say something actually worth noting.</p>
<p>'Beautiful,' Dante caught himself thinking before turning his head away in embarrassment.</p>
<p>He had recently found himself in a unique situation, or at least in his own case. Dante had never really had any experience with girls other than Yang and Ruby, but those two were a completely different and platonic case. He was too busy trying to be the lighthearted jokester to really pay any sort of romantic attention to women.</p>
<p>Then one morning, he remembered waking up and seeing Hazel already out of bed. She wore her usual blue pajamas, her eyes were dark and baggy from studying just a bit too late the night before, and her hair looked as though a tornado had passed by.</p>
<p>And all Dante could think was, 'Beautiful.'</p>
<p>And thus, the desperately trying to hide romantic feelings began. He thought about consulting his closest friends on this, but immediately ruled out that option. Skyler and Yang would be no help, as Dante would get a taste of karma for his teasing of them, and the only thing Ruby knew about romantic relationships was with Crescent Rose. Walker was also ruled out, mainly due to his seeming inexperience with relationships in general.</p>
<p>So that really only left a few other options. Anyone on Team JNPR was ruled out, Jaune and Nora especially, for opposite reasons. The rest of Team RWBY didn't seem like the best of options either. Blake was apparently in a bad mood, and Weiss probably wasn't going to give any advice that would give the slightest chance of potential happiness to her rival. And then came the final option...</p>
<p>So about an hour after class, Dante knocked on one of the doors to a dorm room. And judging by the reaction he got, he was already gonna regret this.</p>
<p>Auriel opened the door and gave him a slightly creepy smile, "You came to the right place. But first..."</p>
<p>She held out a hand, "My upfront fee?"</p>
<p>Dante groaned, but complied, pulling out a hundred lien and handing them to her. She pocketed the money and gestured him in. He complied, meeting the sight of Team ATUM's room... with the rest of the team still inside.</p>
<p>Dante turned to Auriel with an irritated glare, "I thought you said it'd be just us two in the conversation?"</p>
<p>"We are!" Auriel insisted, "You won't hear a peep out of them! They won't contribute to the conversation in any way."</p>
<p>He groaned again, but nevertheless took a seat in a desk chair while ATUM's leader popped a squat on her bed across from him, "So... you finally realized you had feelings for Tikal, huh?"</p>
<p>Dante blushed at the bluntness but replied, "Yeah... So, what do you suggest I do about it."</p>
<p>"Other than outright confessing, I'm guessing?"</p>
<p>"Yup."</p>
<p>Auriel clapped her hands together, "Well then, the answer is simple! Here's what you do..."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"You conned that poor man," Uriel scolded lightly as he and the rest of his team walked through the streets of Vale.</p>
<p>"Come on, what did I say wrong?" Auriel shot back.</p>
<p>"Instead of him confessing outright, you told him to ask her to the upcoming school dance. How is that not terrible advice?"</p>
<p>"Well, I never said he had to ask her to the dance as an <em>actual</em> date. They could just go together as friends, teammates! He's smart enough to figure that out!"</p>
<p>Uriel face-palmed, "I don't know what's more idiotic, your advice or the fact that Dante actually took it."</p>
<p>"C-Come on, Uriel," Tatiana spoke up, "It's not the <em>worst</em> thing that could've been said..."</p>
<p>"I suppose that's true," Meta agreed, "It's not like she said for him to propose to her."</p>
<p>Uriel could only mumble in agreement before going back to the situation at hand, "So anyway, remind me of why we're out here right now?"</p>
<p>"Well, I figured that, as icy as she can be," Auriel replied, "Weiss had a point about scoping out the competition. We're gonna be a part of the Vytal Festival Tournament! We need every advantage we're gonna get."</p>
<p>"A good strategy," Meta complimented, "For a good hunt, it is important to know how the hunted will react in various situations, whether be it when they are aware or unaware of the danger they are in."</p>
<p>"Weird analogy, but precisely!" Auriel agreed with a thumbs up pose.</p>
<p>"I-I'm not sure that's such a good idea..." Tatiana said timidly, glancing around the area and eying a few Faunus, "I m-mean, do we <em>really</em> have to?"</p>
<p>Uriel looked at her funny, "You okay? You seem more timid than you usually are."</p>
<p>"W-Well-"</p>
<p>She was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash. ATUM turned to see a familiar figure in front of a truck... that had just slammed into her. It was the Penny girl from the docks that night, and she had stopped a speeding truck with her bare hands. Further inspection of the situation showed that she had apparently shoved one Ruby Rose out of the way to take the hit. And before anyone could process anything, Penny had taken off running into the nearby alley.</p>
<p>"Penny! Wait!" Ruby cried out, chasing after her, "Where are you going?"</p>
<p>Once the girls disappeared, ATUM blinked at the whole situation a few times before Uriel sighed and said, "So we're just gonna ignore that, right?"</p>
<p>"Oh, most definitely," Auriel replied.</p>
<hr/>
<p>By the time Auriel deemed their scouting done, the sun was already setting. Meta wasn't too bothered by it. He'd had longer hunting trips with his dad before going to Beacon to be a Huntsman. Though they really spent most of their time in various stores, not even paying attention to the Hunter teams they saw, as Auriel was too busy convincing Tatiana to buy something for her. Though it wasn't <em>all</em> a complete waste of time. They managed to stalk two teams in particular.</p>
<p>The first of which consisted of three Faunus (one male and two female) and one male human, one of the girls constantly slapping the human across the head every time he seemed to get something from a concession stand for absolutely nothing. The guy's name was apparently Felix, the girl's name was Scarlett, but the other two were complete unknowns. Uriel made a quick note to plug his ears if Felix tried speaking to him, as that seemed to be the key to his Semblance.</p>
<p>The other team was a team of two Faunus females and two human males. One of the males seemed to always be tinkering with something in his hands, the other guy was just a quiet kind of person (Meta could relate), the female leader of the group was oddly distant with her team (kinda reminding ATUM of Walker), and the other female Faunus constantly had Team ATUM asking themselves if she was too young to drink from that flask.</p>
<p>But nevertheless, the team found themselves at a cafe near the airship docks that would take them back to Beacon. They all waited for their scheduled airship, sipping on whatever beverage they had bought there.</p>
<p>"So... how do you guys think today went?" Auriel asked, finally breaking the silence.</p>
<p>"Rather well, I suppose," Meta shrugged halfheartedly, "The kill may come later than what I'm used to, but it will manage."</p>
<p>Tatiana merely nodded, a bit creeped out by Meta's constant hunting metaphors. Uriel groaned as he put his cup down.</p>
<p>"We have no idea if we'll even fight these people!" he exclaimed, "For all you know, we could be fighting completely different teams in our fights!"</p>
<p>Auriel gave him a look, "So? It's not like we're getting bad intel. Just maybe useless intel."</p>
<p>"See?! We-"</p>
<p>"Well, this is quite the surprise."</p>
<p>The entire group flinched as they turned to look at the voice. The new arrival wore a red collar shirt with yellow bar insignia on the shoulders, as well as black pants and combat boots. He had white hair, yellow eyes, and at his side hung a short spear. His piercing gaze seemed directed at Tatiana, who recognized the newcomer and shrunk down in her seat.</p>
<p>"And who might you be?" ATUM's leader questioned, glaring at the man, who didn't avert his gaze.</p>
<p>"Tatiana Epona," the guy said, disregarding Auriel in favor of her partner before repeating, "I have to say, I didn't expect to see you here."</p>
<p>"W-Well, u-um..." the timid girl replied, more nervous than usual, "I, uh, had t-to for prot-protection... Hello, Nathan..."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And with that, I'm finally done. It was about time I focused on Team ATUM for a bit. They are, after all, one of the main reasons I wanted to rewrite this. And I didn't expect to have so much fun writing them! Expect the next chapter to be like this one; you know, Team ATUM doing their own thing and avoiding Team RWBY's shenanigans.</p>
<p>But yeah, now we can be properly introduced to Nathan Bourbon, leader of Team EBNE and created by H20FLAME. I'm not gonna lie, without him, this entire story would not be nearly as interesting. I'd probably still be blindly following the canon instead of doing my own thing. Nathan and his team will play a vital role in the events to come, so watch out for them! Go check them out at H20Flame's account.</p>
<p>But yeah, that about wraps up this chapter. Team ATUM's about to talk with Nathan and it'll probably be pretty interesting. I have no idea what will be said, so I hope I can come up with something neat. And then after the next chapter, I'll explain how Aura works. Because that's something else the canon just kinda glosses over. Till next time guys!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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